Zero's Knight
by Omniwriter1234
Summary: A Zero summons a Knight, one ready to do whatever he must to keep his Queen safe.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own or own any recognizable and/or licensed material appearing in this work of fiction in any way, shape, or form. I am not attempting to and/or making any profit from this work of fiction either directly or indirectly in any way, shape, or form. All recognizable and/or licensed material appearing belongs to their respective owner in every way, shape, or form to the most applicable extend of the law.

AN: Well, this was done out of boredom so check it out if you want.

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It was...strange to say the least, his current situation. Actually, it wasn't a strange as it possibly could be, he had faced much stranger, with most of them being worst, situations than his current one.

'It seems I have been brought here to battle, interesting to say the least, especially if I have been summoned into 'that'...no, whatever I have been brought into is far too different...what I feel around me is too different to be 'that'. So what was it then? What could have caused such a thing as this? If my lessons are to be believed, especially anything I learned of summonings, what is before me should be impossible. Very much impossible if all those lessons were to be believed, especially from someone so well versed in magic. Though this could be an exception? Perhaps the world is not as I think it is? Gaia may be weaker or simply uncaring here, they may simply allow things like this to happen?'

'But, if that was to be believed, if it was true then that would mean...'

"I am...the...no..impossible, truly it is impossible for such a thing to exist!" whatever the man within the smoke was speaking, it was an after thought to the people around him, many much more interested in the shaking figure in front of them.

"Hahaha! Zero fails yet again!"

"Yeah, she couldn't even do something so simple without blowing something up!"

"No wonder she's a Zero, she's barely a Noble as it is!"

"You should go to the commoners Zero...NO! You're not even on their level!"

"I bet she's di..."

"SILENCE!" a wave of heat suddenly traveled through them all, silencing all of the figures as the man responsible turned eyes comparable to an inferno on those that had spoken.

"All of you," his voice was a deadly whisper, a promise of punishment in his voice. ", if I hear any of you speak such things again about Ms. Valliere I promise you I will make you regret coming to the Academy."

The man let fires begin coalescing around the staff the man held in a death grip, wisps of flames seeming to take shape before dispersing into the air as the man slammed the end of the staff into the ground again.

"NOW! Apologize to Ms. Valliere or I shall begin your punishments here by a duel!" the man finished his statement by leveling his staff at the group, flames now surrounding the end of it and threatening to be unleashed in moments if his order was not followed immediately.

"We're sorry Ze..." the group of teens began, shaking as they turned to the still shaking girl, bowing slightly to the pink haired girl in front of them.

"Ms. Valliere's proper name, not that horrible nickname you cowards have given her!" the man bellowed, the flames along his staff now taking on the form of a serpent, teeth bared and coiled to strike at the group.

"...Louise, we're sorry for calling you Zero! Please forgive us!" the boys were a sobbing mess now, tears streaming down their faces while one figure walked out of the group of similar dressed teens and towards the shaking girl, the shaking growing progressively worse and worse as she looked at what was in front of her. Nothing, nothing except for smoke.

"My Rose, please do not cry. Such a fair maiden such as yourself should never have a tear stain such beauty." the boy seemed to ignore as the shaking grew worse as he approached, wrapping his arms around the shoulders of the pink haired girl. "Please, do not wound my heart and cry my Rose."

'Hmm, it seems this smoke will never go away it seems.' the man rose to his feet from his kneeling position, observing the blurred outlines he could see through the smoke and the conversations he had managed to hear as he ad attempted to wait out the smoke. 'It seems I will have to head out and see what is beyond this smoke myself.'

The elegant gleaming silver armor they wore seemed to now take on a shine, leaving the almost dim state it was in, as the man rose to his feet, a truly majestic blade in hand but now sheathed into an equally majestic sheath at his waist as with a wave of his hands, the helm he wore seemed to fade away into dust, revealing spiky white hair that the figure combed back with on hand, a plan forming as they allowed their truly monstrous energy to be released, blasting away the smoke around him and revealing the pink haired girl struggling to hold back tears as she was held against the chest of a blonde teen, his eyes once warm and caring as they were focused on the girl, now raising and locking with his own, a warning clear in them as they leaned their head down to speak with the girl in their embrace.

"My little Rose, it looks as if you have called forth a Familiar." the blonde gently released the now shocked pink haired girl, staring in shock at the knight clad in silver armor, eyes the color of blood locking with her own as the knight took a single step forward, blue wisps of energy still swirling around his body, an after effect of whatever he used to clear the smoke from around him. The knight's armor seemed to dissolve as they walked, slowly coming apart into silver dust that seemed to disperse in a gentle breeze.

In mere moments the knight was left with only what he wore underneath, a light grey dress shirt with a black vest over it and black dress pants and polished shoes. Moving one hand up, they straightened the pitch black tie wrapping around their neck and paused in front of the pink haired girl, blood red eyes looking her over in curiosity before they seemed to find what they were looking for.

With such an air of nobility and power, the knight's next action shocked all those present as he gently lowered himself to one knee on the ground as he bowed his head to the girl.

"At your summoning I have come forth, to act as both your blade and as your shield for as long as I must, to both protect you and to destroy you enemies. To complete this contract I ask of you a single question, are you my Master?"

_"..are you my master?"_ the pink haired girl could hardly believe what was happening, she had truly summoned something but...but...

"Hah, the Zero summoned a commoner!"

Cruel laughter filled her ears, the one sign that she was actually a Mage and all she did was summon a commoner with Magic armor. Something ridiculous compared to something like the salamander that Kirche had summoned. Even now the Germanian girl was walking up to her, an arrogant smirk on her face as she looked over pink haired girl and the commoner she had summoned to be her Familiar.

"Well, well, well, looks like you live up to your name Zero, a Familiar with zero worth for someone like you, a failure." the busty red head gestured to the salamander at her side as she barely held in laughter. "I, on the other hand, summoned Flame, a salamander." a gleam was in her eyes as she saw the girl's shaking worsen as she adopted a curious look. "Truly through, I guess I'm just wondering how long it is before your 'knight' decides he wants to leave, probably by the end of the day once he hears how much of a failure you are, Zero. Frankly, I'm sur..."

"Enough!" the blonde pulled Louise against him turning her away from the red head with one hand as with the other he drew a wand modeled after a rose, one suddenly blooming as he was seemingly preparing to use it.

"Watch your tongue Zerbst, do not dare to insult such a fair young lady as Louise for I swear, if you bring her to tears," the blonde flicked the wand modeled after a rose, still holding it towards the ground but the threat was clear. "I will do what is necessary to stop such a thing on such a beautiful flower."

"Oh Guiche, would you really choose such a girl over a real woman like me?" Kirche's once mocking smirk changed into a flirtatious grin, the Zerbst heightening its effect by leaning forward slightly, putting her rather large chest in full view of the now named Guiche. "You truly aren't thinking she can..." Kirche paused, her flirty grin quickly fading as she rose back to er full height, her mocking grin returning full force. "Oh, I see why you're defending Zero now, she must he spreading her legs for you like any failure would, no wonder she's stayed in this school so long, the Garmont family is keeping her here. Perhaps even more through? Zero is quite the failure but I can see what some of you may see in someone like her, someone so pathetic all they're good for is spreading their legs like a common whore."

"You...you dare insinuate such things Zerbst!" an irate Guiche stepped forward, anger visible on his face while he gently pushed Louise behind him while he glared at a smirking Kirche who merely rose one finger, making a 'come hither' motion with it and one Guiche was glad to take as the rose adorning his wand seemed to die but before a single petal could fall from the wand, a serpent of flame coiled around both, an enraged man stepping forward as the several students he had been disciplining for their insults to Louise lay crumpled on the ground, twitching at some minor illusions the man had crafted around them and leaving them terrorized for their bullying.

"Enough of this, both of you back with the other students and Louise," the man spoke in a harsh tone to the two almost fighting students before turning to a still distraught Louise, his eyes warming as his voice took a much gentler tone. ",please finish the Springtime Familiar Summoning ritual, there is no point in delaying it Ms. Valliere."

'Hmm, it seems I have been ignored.' the knight was actually used to such things, he had faced them many times and had eventually gotten used to it, people rarely paid attention to him when his Queen was always the true reason they were there. 'I suppose my new Master is not very well versed in summoning a Servant...or is this just another game by It, attempting to seize my power or perhaps leave the Queen vulnerable? No, I am in the end unimportant, my fellow Knights will continue to protect the Queen in my absence. As of now, my Master is my new commitment and if my Lady truly needs me she shall call for me using 'that'.'

When the red headed girl had approached, the knight had ignored her, expecting her to perhaps speak some ill words but his Master had yet to agree to the contract and such he had no need to intervene. Of course, his Master also seemed distraught about his summoning, something not uncommon in her situation if she truly did not know who had answered her call. When his already distraught Master had almost began to cry when the boy named Guiche pushed her behind him to deal with the bullying red head, he had been ready to rise but felt it would be right to let the approaching man, perhaps the teacher from the looks of it, deal with the problem to avoid any potential incidents. He truly did not wish to kill someone mere minutes after his summoning.

_"...finish the Springtime Familiar Summoning ritual, there is no point delaying it Ms. Valliere."_ those words drew his attention, he rose to his full height and with a pointed cough he gained the attention of the teacher and, more importantly, his summoner.

"I agree with your teacher Master, please affirm your acceptance of the contract so I may fight by your side." the knight folded his arms behind his back as he stepped forward, slowly so as not frighten his Master, and once again kneel before her.

"What?" Louise stepped back from her kneeling Familiar, honestly confused at his words but Professor Colbert stopped her, stepping past her while hiding the short girl behind his body, his staff filling with Magic as he prepared for the worst.

"What are you speaking of?" Colbert was honestly curious, to him there was only one way to create a bond with a Familiar contract and that was with a simple kiss, something that was odd but had come from Brimir himself so it was hardly thought of as needing change, the Founder knew what was best for his people and created the greatest way to bind Familiars for them.

"I spoke to my Master not you." the knight ignored Colbert, focusing on Louise as she stepped out from behind the professor. "To finish the contract all you must do is speak acceptance of it, acknowledge yourself as my Master and I shall become your Servant as it should be."

"What?" Louise was horrified, taking several steps back. "That goes against a tradition created by the Founder himself, such a thing would..."

"Louise, accept it." Colbert's interruption pulled Louise out of new hysterics, the professor locking eyes with the knight Louise had summoned. "I think this is not an average Familiar as we all would like to think."

"But...professor..."

"Master, please accept it. I will not ask much of you but this is something I must compel you to do if we shall claim victory." the knight bowed his head to the pink haired girl. "I swear to protect you with all of my power if you shall accept the contract, I shall ensure we obtain a great victory."

The knight locked eyes with a hesitant Louise, one obviously conflicted but after a moment she seemed to come to a decision, one that would change her life forever, as she let out a deep sigh. Pink eyes met crimson and slowly Louise nodded, hesitant but feeling something, something urging her to accept the contract her Familiar had spoken of, to simply accept it, accept her Familiar and his power.

"...I...I accept."

The knight rose to his full height than, his armor appearing in a flash of light as Louise screamed, red light flashing across her body even as Colbert allowed a serpent of flames to leap forward, screaming in anger as he targeted the knight. A gleaming silver sword cleaved his spell in half, scattering the flames as the knight rushed towards his Master, his sword falling out of his grip in his hurry to get to his Master as the knight simply ignored it, instead grabbing the collapsed girl and lifting her into his arms.

"Master, what is causing you this pain?" the knight struggled to hold onto the withering girl, the red light growing in intensity as it's rays burned through her clothes, the knight observing them traveling across her entire body very quickly. His panic instantly evaporated once he saw the markings, sighing as a golden light seemed to cover him before it looked to break away, taking a solid form wrapped in a soft glow that amazed those nearby simply by observing what was clearly a gift from the Founder himself.

"My Master, I must apologize for this pain you are suffering." the knight's face, for the most part expressionless, was now caring, his once almost emotionless eyes now showing a caring light in them as the golden object that formed in front of him moved, slowly turning into golden dust that was seemingly absorbed by Louise, instantly stopping the girl's shaking. "I see now what has happened and promise to stop such a fate from befalling you. I shall do whatever I must to stop such a thing, I will not fail you my new Queen."

"What did you do to her you..." Colbert did not manage to finish his sentence, the Magic filled staff he pointed at the knight proving to be his undoing as the knight didn't even bother turning to face him, the sheer amount of power he suddenly released enough to bring the professor to his knees at the sudden change in the air. His students were worse, all of them dropping unconscious almost instantly and the panicked professor managed to fight through his sudden Magic filled air and instead slowly rise to his feet.

"Stop this...please!" Colbert struggled to stand but his care for his students, despite their attitudes most of the time, pushed him forward even as he leaned heavily on his staff. "My...my students...th..." even his will couldn't keep him from falling, such a thing stopping him before he could finish as he dropped to the ground, barely conscious by the time his limp body hit the ground.

His last image was of the knight, ignoring him and his collapsed students as he walked away, carrying the now asleep Louise off to the Academy in the distance, his gleaming silver armor blinding to the barely conscious Professor. But it was his words, the last words he spoke that terrified Colbert.

"My Queen..."

'No..I'm sorry Ms. Valliere..I failed yet again...'

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AN: Well, I guess I want to know how it was. Good? Bad? Needs some more work? But don't really ask any questions as it was left intentionally vague at most parts so they would be questions on what was happening, questions I like answering later in the story.

Peace.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own and/or claim to own any recognizable or licensed material in any way, shape, and/or form neither am I attempting to and/or making a profit from this work of fiction in any way, shape, and/or form.

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It had been several hours since he had carried his Queen away and he grew worried now. The artifact he had transferred to her should have helped to heal her pain and she should be awake unless the artifact was less potent than he was lead to believe but to believe such a thing was ridiculous. Her Majesty must simply need more time than normally to recover, what she just experienced had placed not only a strain on her body but a strain on her spirit and mind as well. It could not be easy to endure such an assault on three fronts for one so young.

"My Queen, please recover soon." the knight had found his Queen's room and had laid her down in her bed, finding her sleepwear after some minor searching and changing her into it. He had done the same with his Queen when she had first assumed her role and saw this time no different. "I have cared for you as best I could but to my shame my skills have limits, they are not truly suited for this role and thus I can help no more. It is such a disgrace, for your Servant to not be able to care for his Master as he should even more so as a knight should fulfill all the needs his Lady shall need of him."

Another annoyance attempted to enter the room, something the Bounded Fields he had set up around the room, truly the entire tower he found his Master's bedroom to be in, easily repelled them as always but they seemed persistent, attempting to no doubt separate him from his Queen. Hah! Such a thing shall never happen as long as he still breathed! He is his Queen's knight for all time, even if it would lead to his damnation he would protect her!

But this one, it seemed different. It spoke of more power, something that could potentially break through the admittedly weak Bounded Fields he had created. He had little time to set them up and could only set up the basics, the more advanced required more time, time he lacked. The power attacking it was not normal, it seemed greater than any other had had encountered her recently. Of course it still paled in comparison to his normal foes but was still a substantial threat in his current state. His Queen could not defend herself now, he could not leave her when this could simply be a ploy to draw him out into battle while others attempted to take her away from him. Such a thing would only end in disaster and so such a thing shall not be allowed to occur.

'I shall have to prepare for when they break down the door.' the knight's armor returned, his sword sheathed at his waist as a helm slowly materialized to conceal his face from his future foe, a truly incredible one as it bared likeness to a bird in flight, days of gentle and precise work in the carving making it so. It was topped by a royal blue plume, a thing he truly found silly so rarely wore the helm into battle but he was representing his Queen at the moment and such a thing was needed. The plume, to him, was always too long, reaching his mid back but he did not complain to Her Majesty, it was not his right to do such a thing when she had so generously gifted the armor to him. Similar carvings covered his armor, particularly the chestplate, a bird in flight a large part of it while similar designs covered both his gauntlets and his greaves.

His sword was rarely allowed out of his presence so it lacked much of the elegant design of his armor, only a bird acting as the crossguard the only visible sign of Her Majesty's craftsmen being allowed to touch the blade. He was glad of such a thing, a weapon should not be so heavily focused on detail that it's edge is allowed to dull, something he avoided with great care.

With his armor and weapon now summoned, the knight dropped to a single knee, resting the tip of his blade on the floor as he held the hilt with one hand, his other was at his side with his helm under his arm as he bowed his head, his eyes closed.

"May the Father of Understanding guide my blade. May the Mother of Wisdom gift me with knowledge. And May Her Majesty forgive me." his words were spoken slow and with reverence, the words repeated many times, always spoken before a battle he would enter. It was a ritual Her Majesty allowed him to perform and one he continued even now.

Rising, the knight slipped his helm over his head, revealing only his ears now and the lower half of his face, below his nose as he drew his blade from the ground and settled with a two-handed grip on the blade as he simply waited now.

It was truly only moments before his Bounded Fields finally gave away, collapsing under the onslaught they were never ready for and instantly the door to his Queen's room was destroyed as those who sought to separate him from her entered the room.

He did not give them a chance.

Like lightning he shot forward, leaving a trail of the blue energy he used to propel himself behind as he shot forward, no hesitation in his strikes as he was met with blades those fools had foolishly thought could stand against his own, such inferior weapons insults to his eyes as he observed them. He did not even feel them as he cut through such things with ease, his blade merely a silver flash as he swiftly shifted from his two handed grip to a one handed one, moving his blade with deadly precision now. Magic impacted his armor but could not pierce a thing of such strength, Her Majesty ensured he had only the finest of material to craft both his weapon and his armor and such a thing would fall only to the full power of Her Majesty. Perhaps, despite it being such a blasphemous thought, not even her own power could pierce it.

In the end, the thirty presences he had sensed outside of his Queen's room had been fully defeated in mere seconds once they had breached the doors. He refused to allow blood to be in the presence of his Queen so he avoided drawing it, knocking out the foolish attackers and leaving them collapsed outside the room. If the situation was different and he fought away from his Queen the fools would already be dead but he restrained himself, for now at least. Eventually his Queen would allow such a thing and then these fools would be dead.

"Pathetic." the knight kicked away an unconscious fool from in his way and stepped back into the room, finding his Queen still resting as he frowned, letting his helm dissolve away as he closed the door behind him, repairing the heavily damaged Bounded Fields he had created while adding several more.

He dismissed his armor and blade and was yet again dressed in his dark grey shirt, black vest, black dress pants, a pair of well polished black shoes, and a tie he had gained a habit of straightening once he had dismissed his armor. He slipped his hands into his pockets as he now waited for his Queen to awaken, knowing it would be soon as he could feel the artifact he had given away to her return once it sensed its purpose was completed. The artifact, to this day, continued to amaze him as he began to understand it and its capabilities more and more. Truly, Her Majesty was the most kind to part with such an object, gifting it to her loyal knight to protect him as he defended her with all he had.

"My Queen, please awaken soon." the knight knelt next to the bed, dropping his head as he crossed one arm across his chest, the other resting at his side. "Please awaken soon my Queen, we have much to discuss and I fear what are enemies do in our absence from the battlefield."

"What, what are you talking about?" Louise, his Queen, had finally awoken it seemed and he smiled as he rose his head.

"My Queen!" the knight's face bore a smile of absolute joy as he observed Louise, no signs of weariness of either the body or the spirit upon her any longer neither was there any injury to her mind from the contract's sealing. "You have finally awoken, it is with great joy I am finally able to pledge myself to your service!"

"What?" Louise rubbed her eyes, trying to understand why someone was in her room. "What are you doing in my room?"

"Your Majesty, does my presence bother you?" the knight now looked confused, almost like a child who had found all was not right but did not know what had done such a thing. "Do you wish for me to leave you for a moment? Do you require anything I have not seen to?"

"What is going on?" Louise was honestly starting to panic now, terribly confused at what was happening and why a man with silver hair was in her room and speaking as if he was her servant, servants were not allowed at the Academy since it had its own substantial staff at hand to cater to the needs of the Nobles attending. "Who are you?"

"My Queen!" the man looked stunned, almost hurt at her words as his head dropped. "I apologize for any shame I have brought you but I beg of you, do not cast me away so early my liege!" the knight looked up at her, pleading with her for something she had no idea of.

"I don't know what you are talking about! What is going on?" Louise moved away from the strange man in her room, moving as far away as he bed allowed as the man dropped his head again, his silver hair hanging to shadow his eyes.

"I deeply apologize your Majesty, I shall wait outside if you insist that I do!" the knight stood without another word, walking towards the door as his armor and blade appeared on him in what looked to be a silver mist that settled around him before solidifying.

'That armor!' Louise remembered the armor of the figure, memories suddenly rushing back to her as she leapt out of her bed in her sudden haste.

Before she could strike the ground, she felt herself brought against a sudden warmth, looking up into the concerned eyes of her knight as he stood next to her bed, holding her in his arms with his armor vanished, fearing it would hurt his Queen if he was to keep it on when he had rushed to catch her.

"Your Majesty, are you well, do you require more healing!" the knight cradled her in his arms as a golden mist seemed to leak out of him and Louise felt a soothing sensation wash over her entire body as the mist surrounded them both. "Don't worry my Queen, I will heal whatever ailment plagues you with haste!"

Louise could suddenly hardly keep her eyes open, she could see a golden haze enter her vision and it seemed to whisper to her _'Sleep'_ and no matter how hard she tried to stay awake _'Sleep' _it seemed to _'Sleep' _str-_'Sleep'_-ong to re-_'Sleep'_-...

The knight watched, eyes filled with caring as his Queen slowly drifted off to sleep and once he was sure she had fallen into a deep slumber, he gently laid her in her bed, swiftly pulling the blankets over her yet again and ensuring she was comfortable as he stood over her, deep in thought even as he watched over her.

'This is worrying, she was nearly hurt because of my foolishness. I have relied on the artifact too much and did not think she would have any weariness, foolish of me. Truly foolish of me to think such a thing my Queen experienced would be cured so easily by the artifact. She is still ill and will require more rest so I must allow her to regain her strength more. During that time I must ensure her foes know not to strike at her, she is still very vulnerable, especially without any of the normal signs Her Majesty would usually have at this time. It simply makes her situation all the worse, something I must prepare for until I can secure her Blessing. If I do not gain one fast enough, Her Majesty will suffer and I shall fail my duty to her as her knight.'

'Oh such a thing is nearly impossible through! I know not of any Blessings she could take part in! Nothing is as it should be!' the knight felt despair in his heart as he thought of failing Her Majesty in such a task, especially one a important as the Blessing! 'I must do something before such a time is reached that the Blessing is too late!'

The knight called forth his armor with that thought, his eyes holding a cold determination as his blade appeared at his side. He dismissed any thought of failure as his helm appeared over his head in a swirling silver mist. He marched towards the door with measured steps, his mind coming up with a plan even as he froze.

'No! I cannot leave Her Majesty's side even for this!' the knight knew the Bounded Fields around them were too weak and if he were to leave it would be ever worse! It could spell the fall of his Queen, even this soon! She would be completely defenseless in the healing slumber he had sent her into and if her enemies attacked her when he was away preparing the Blessing...if they reached her...NO! He would not poison his soul with such thoughts!

THEY WOULD NEVER TAKE HER AWAY FROM HIM!

"I shall not fail you my Queen." the knight opened the door and stepped out, ignoring the lack of the fools he had defeated earlier as he marched down the hall, Bounded Fields springing out all around him and throughout the tower as he used his power to create them in mass, overcoming their inherent weakness with the sheer quantity and diversity of them all. Hundreds of them were set and layered in less than a single moment as he began his trek down the tower, more Bounded Fields anchoring themselves around him with every step he took.

Oh, how he had failed! He had allowed that...that...THAT DEMON to take Louise and lock her away in the Academy! It had created such a prison for Ms. Valliere that not even an elite squad of Dragon Knights sent by the Princess herself once she heard of th young girl's plight could reach Ms. Valliere! What ever had interfered with the Familiar Summoning was truly something they could not face without the might of the Founder himself behind them! Truly only he could bring down that Demon with the raw power it wielded. Not even a barrage of Triangle and Square Spells had damaged the unholy armor it wore! Not even the finest magical blades in all of Tristain could clash with his own blade! Not even the best of knights, those sworn to protect royalty with the great power they possessed, could even wound the monster!

And worse of all, the Demon acted as if it was a knight, protecting Louise from them as if they would harm her! They had only been trying to rescue the young Valliere! Especially before her mother heard of what had happened! She would destroy the entire school to stop the Demon that was keeping her daughter a prisoner in her own room and many were already fleeing to underground shelters, something Headmaster Osmond had installed the moment he had heard Karin was allowing her daughter to attend the Tristain Academy of Magic.

The man once known as the Flame Snake and now simply Jean Colbert, or Professor Colbert if you were one of his students, sat collapsed at his desk, his heads in his hands as he tried to discover a way to free his imprisoned student from the Demon claiming to be a knight. The many books thrown around the office were a clear indication of just how much he had tried, many stacks reaching the ceiling of the spacious classroom he taught classes in. He had looked through them endlessly for a potential solution but found none, no Demon had ever been recorded in any history book for summoning and now they had to face one. A complete unknown to their entire world and it kept Ms. Valliere away from them!

'Oh how I have failed!' Professor Colbert felt tears coming to his eyes as he thought of his failure. 'How could I fail one of my students so terribly! Nothing I can do can even hope to stop that creature and it will keep Ms. Valliere prisoner until someone can free her! The only thing I could possible think of that isn't the Founder himself is impossible! No one would ever allow such a thing!'

Colbert suddenly shot upright, his mind truly thinking over such an idea.

'Or would they?'

Colbert, suddenly giddy with joy at a potential solution to the current problem, leapt from his desk and sprinted out of his classroom, heading to the Headmaster's Office, eager to share his idea with the Headmaster and see if it could actually work! Moving as quickly as possible, Colbert had reached the Headmaster's Office in a few minutes in a full sprint. Thankful he had kept himself in shape even if he despised war, he burst through the doors in front of him and saw the Headmaster looking over a book, undoubtedly looking for a solution as his Familiar seemed to do the same, rushing from the shelves behind Osmond ever few minutes with a new book hovering above its head.

"Headmaster!" Colbert slid to a stop in front of Osmond's desk, panting slightly but his grin still on his face. "I believe I have a solution to our problem!"

"What is it Jean?" Osmond wearily looked up, having been pouring over books for several hours and not finding anything to stop the Demon plaguing the Academy at the moment and it looked like he never would even as his Familiar, a small mouse, rushed over with new books every few minutes, reading them and taking notes with a levitating pencil.

"It is risky but it could work if everything goes to plan!" Colbert quickly explained his plan to Osmond, the Headmaster at first stunned before slowly realizing that the plan could perhaps work. It could save them from both the wrath of Karin and the powerful Demon holding Louise captive.

"By the Founder Brimir, Colbert that plan could work and get rid of the Demon holding Louise!" Osmond was nearly ecstatic as he rose from his desk, already looking for the specific book they needed as his Familiar rushed out of the room, heading to gather the needed materials and return them to the Headmaster's Office once it had them.

"I pray it does Osmond, I truly pray it does." Colbert rose out of the chair he had levitated over as he discussed his plan with the Headmaster, leaning heavily on his staff for a moment before straightening and giving the Headmaster a brief nod before he turned and walked away, already the books he would need to look through coming to kind as well as the spells he would need if he was to free Ms. Valliere from the demon that kept her prisoner.

"Colbert!" Osmond's voice stopped Colbert at the door, the professor turning to look at the Headmaster.

"Yes, Headmaster?" Colbert rose an eyebrow, curious about the Headmaster stopping him.

"We have no certainty this plan will work but we cannot even try it with you in your current condition." Osmond rose a single hand to stop any potential objections from Colbert. "Not only did you lead the students in the Springtime Familiar Summoning not too long ago but you also encountered this Demon first and rushed all your students here once you awoke after it knocked you out. I know you do not like such a thing, but I am ordering you to rest until I send Longueville to bring you here when we are ready to begin."

"But...Headmaster..."

"Colbert, I am not asking you." Osmond locked eyes with Colbert, his Familiar returning to the room unnoticed to the Professor.

The soft ringing of a bell echoed around the office and Colbert instantly dropped to the ground if not for a green haired woman catching him with levitation, keeping the professor upright for the moment.

"Impeccable timing as always Longueville, please take Colber outside, several maids will be waiting to take him to his quarters." Osmond returned to his research as his secretary dragged out the sleeping Professor.

'Let's pray your plan works Colbert, I do not want to face Karin the Heavy Wind, especially when she is looking for her daughter.'

"Well, well, well, it seems someone has plans." the knight grinned to himself, the temptation to end the possible annoyance Osmond could become something he easily ignored as he instead chose to focus on the Blessing his Queen would need soon, something he would make sure happened.

'It seems like it will do...at least for now until I can ascertain a proper Blessing for Her Majesty.'

The knight allowed himself to fall, vanishing long before he hit the ground and instead appearing at the highest tower of the Tritain Academy of Magic. Crimson eyes comparable to blood looked over the vast plains around the academy, finding himself amused as he decided to rest here for a moment.

'This will do well in establishing Her Majesty's fortress, once I finish preparations and complete the First Blessing I will have plenty of time to devote to such a task.' the knight vanished yet again, a silver mist that seemed lost in the strong winds around the tower he stood on.

The knight reappeared in Louise's room, standing beside his Queen's bedside as he dismissed his armor.

"All shall be ready for you when you awaken your Majesty, I shall ensure such things are done while you rest and regain your lost strength." the knight, for the first time, allowed a rather rare thing to appear on his face, a smile. One not hiding much, putting on display a certain savagery the knight liked to keep locked away.

Shadows spread over the sleeping Louise, as if attempting to obscure, or perhaps consume, her while the Valliere, suddenly feeling very cold, pulled the blankets tighter around her, shivering as the cold seemed to seep into her, drawing out all the warmth from her. All the while the knight merely watched, the smile never leaving his face even as the shadows fully covered his Queen. Her Majesty was safe as long as he was here, he had never allowed anyone to hurt her and he would make certain such a thing continued.

"Your Knight shall ensure it all."

* * *

AN: So, how was chapter 2? Good? Bad? Could use some work? Again, no questions on the chapter as I'm leaving things vague or unclear on purpose as I like revealing things while dropping hints to see who can figure them out.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing in any way, shape, and/or form. I am not attempting to or making a claim to own any recognizable and/or licensed material in any way, shape, and/or form. I am not attempting to and/or making a profit from this work of fiction in any way, shape, and/or form. All recognizable and/or licensed material appearing in this work of fiction belongs to their respective owners in every way, shape, and/or form to the fullest extent of the applicable laws.

* * *

The cold had invaded her dreams, chilling her inside even them as she desperately looked, desperate for anyone in the empty halls of the academy. Even one of her tormentors and their barbs would have been better than the sheer emptiness around her. The air was empty, the building was empty, even she felt empty as she aimlessly wandered the halls.

"Why? Why am I here?"

Only silence answered her, nothing but silence all around her as she continued her slow walk down the halls.

"What is this place?"

"WHY DOES ANYTHING MATTER!"

The sudden scream made her stumble back, falling to the floor from shock as flames sprung up all around her.

"NOTHING MATTERS!"

Louise looked around her, either out of fear or desperation she couldn't decipher, in search of the voice, finding nothing as the flames seemed to consume everything around her, tearing down the academy, the flames seeming almost alive as they raced up and down the halls around her.

"NOTHING MATTERS!"

* * *

The knight was amused, blocking the door the blonde in front of him wished to go through, undeterred by any threats or names the boy held. In truth, he would like nothing better then to rip him apart with his bare hands but at the moment it would be stupid. Her Majesty was still weak and such an action by him would leave his Queen undefended, something he would not allow to happen. But his current plans would be derailed if he fell to his urges so his current performance would have to remain, his true self must be hidden and his current role must be played until Her Majesty was strong enough for him to reveal his true self.

'I suppose it must be done.' the knight kept his face blank, ignoring the words of the blonde in front of him before he seemed to stop, the knight finally decided to speak.

"Hmm, do you really think you may enter the Queen's room?" the knight in front of him barred his path, something he would not allow. Not after everything he had done to get this far to begin with.

"I don't care what you think of my Sir Knight, I will enter Louise's room to check on her." the blonde in front of him was amusing, his wand was out and he seemed to be of the notion he would keep his arm if he moved to attack. Such ridiculous thoughts really, that arm would be severed at the slightest tense, something the knight was well trained to observe even when speaking.

"I am afraid it is not what I think that governs my actions, the Queen's chambers are off limits to all but those most trusted and none of this land fall into that category." the knight kept his arms crossed in front of his chest, his sword hanging at his side and Guiche's eyes were once again drawn to it instead of the blood masquerading as the knight's own eyes.

"Let me see her Sir Knight or else I will earn the right through combat." Guiche tightened his grip on the wand, the knight not showing any signs of surprise at the challenge, he seemed more excited at the prospect in front of him.

But this excitement quickly died.

"I am afraid I cannot do that, if it is not by the Queen's order, I may not commit public executions." the knight turned his eyes away from Guiche now, he instead turned his attention to the stairs Guiche had come up, sensing the powerful energy keeping a hole in his Bounded Fields open.

'Interesting, it would seem some artifact is keeping a hole open in my Bounded Fields.' the knight decided then that such tenacity, the act of stealing such a dangerous and powerful artifact, the sheer determination the boy held gave him at least the chance to see his Queen. Her Majesty was still resting after all, there was plenty of time to deal with the blonde in front of him and return with Her Majesty never knowing the better.

"Very well then, lead me to a suitable field and we shall do battle against one another for your right to see the Queen." the knight snapped his fingers, several more Bounded Fields appearing around both the room, the hall, and the tower to better protect Her Majesty while he was gone.

"The Vestri Court then, in an hour we shall do battle." Guiche was surprised the knight would actually give him the chance to fight, at first he had merely ignored him and it was a struggle to get him to even speak on why for many hours. "If either of us shall die, then let us make peace with ourselves in this hour."

"A man of my nature is always at peace young Garmont, let you prepare yourself as you see fit." the knight gave the blonde a small nod and after a moment's hesitation he returned it before turning and running off, no doubt to prepare himself for the battle ahead.

The moment the boy was gone and the artifact with him, the knight's pleasant demeanor dropped, a heavy power filling the hall as the knight's gauntleted hands clenched into fists before he quickly calmed himself a she felt his Queen begin to stir, something that should not be done simply because he could not keep his temper in check.

'Impudent little brat, I shall have to deal with him quickly, destroy the artifact he used to breach my fields, and return her quickly if my Queen is to be properly protected from threats until she awakens from her slumber, an event brought on by my foolishness.' the knight hurried off, his thoughts preoccupied as he made his way to the Vestri Court the boy spoke of. He could afford to wait a single hour for the boy to arrive so he could clear his mind, even if it was in such impure and tainted air that he was forced to breath in this putrid land. Hopefully, Her Majesty would awaken soon and he could actually begin to act.

* * *

"HE WHAT!" Headmaster Osmond was rarely a man who was angry but when he was his power could be felt by everyone in the academy, be it commoner of noble. A crushing presence was currently spreading all throughout the academy because of his fury, making he walls tremble as the students struggled to keep their already divided attention on the lessons in front of them.

"He has somehow challenged Ms. Valliere's Familiar to a battle of honor making this something we cannot interfere in no matter what is to happen to the boy." Longueville kept her calm in the presence of the infuriated headmaster, well, at least outwardly she did. On the inside she was absolutely terrified and trie dher best to fight down the impulse to run screaming from the room and through the doors of the academy, perhaps out of Tristain entirely from the amount of power rolling off of the headmaster in breathtaking waves.

"We cannot let a child die! Especially not when our plan is so close to fruition!" Osmond's desk, already straining against the chaotic magic centered around the headmaster, shattered as he brought a fist down, the ancient wood now nothing but splinters as the green haired secretary took several hurried steps back.

"I shall see what I can do." Longueville waited for the headmaster to nod before she bolted back to her own desk outside the office, thankful to be out of the room with an enraged Osmond inside.

"I should have seen such a thing coming from Mr. Gramont, his family is known for such acts of valor against great foes." Osmond sighed as he looked out towards the Vestri Court where he could barely spot the knight simply waiting, his sword planted in the ground in front of him and his armor, at least for the moment, gone.

"I beg of you Founder, protect this foolish boy. I beg of you to keep him from death."

* * *

It was...amusing to see the terrified mass of students hiding near the edges of the field he found himself in. Very, very amusing as his every move brought forth a flinch from them, something the knight abused as he made far more movements than necessary as he waited for the blonde to arrive.

"Tick tock, tick tock, the time soon is up. Will the boy show or will he flee, all of this once the hour is up." the knight chuckled to himself as he spotted the blonde walk out onto the field, a sword at his side and his wand gripped tightly in his hands, the rose missing as he seemed to have forgone his normal flair for a more battle oriented mindset. Something the knight could appreciate, especially when he caught sight of the armor the boy wore underneath his cloak.

"You have honored the time I gave you, impressive Guiche Gramont." the knight walked forward, meeting Guiche in the middle of the field they were set to do battle in and the two shook hands. "May this battle be great and if either of us should end let it be a glorious and honorable one."

"I agree with your words Sir Knight, I ask for nothing in this coming battle except for one thing." Guiche's words merely made the knight raise a white eyebrow in curiosity, something that seemed to help Guiche gather his sudden frayed nerves.

"And what is that Mr. Gramont?" the knight was curious, especially if he was to continue the polite game he was playing at the moment.

"I merely wish to know the name of my opponent." Guiche locked eyes with the knight despite the sudden desire to run, to flee from the monster suddenly taking place of the knight, he stood his ground, earning a small almost unnoticeable nod from the knight.

"If you insist." the knight shrugged a moment after Guiche's sudden terror took hold. "My name shall be answered when we first clash blades."

The knight released Guiche's hands at that moment, stepping back and turning away from the blonde as he did the same.

"Great Founder Brimir, guide me in this battle. Protect me from my foes blows and guide my own. Keep the ground pure of my noble blood and darken it with his own. I pray for victory and life for myself, the great noble your great power has gifted me to be." Guiche's pray was whispered as he walked to the other end of the field, his grip on his wand tightening as he prepared himself for what may be his death. The man he would face, if he could even be called such, was a warrior that would not be mistaken in the great tales of old, of the time of the Founder when great warriors rose and fell during the great crusades against the elves that wished to destroy them all.

"Guiche de Gramont!" the knight called out his foes name as he reached his blade, the tip of the blade embedded at the end of the field. "Have you made peace with yourself and those close to you?"

"I have Sir Knight and now I ask the same to you, are you at peace?"

Peace? Why would a man such as he need peace? What good was peace? Peace made someone like him weak, made all those he fought with suddenly expendable, and, worse of all, peace threatened Her Majesty and that was something he would never allow for as long as he could wield his blade, for as long as he could draw breath, as long as he had breath no one would ever threaten Her Majesty.

"I am at peace Guiche de Gramont, a man like myself rarely is not." the knight silently applauded his own acting skills, almost tricking himself with the sincerity behind his words.

"Then let our battle begin Sir Knigt!" Guiche wasted no more time, his words were spoken as he drew his sword and his wand came to life, petals falling from the shining golden rose suddenly adorning the tip.

Without much prompt, a dozen or so bronze Valkyries wielding various weapons rushed him as they rose from the ground in a flash of golden light.

"Oh man, Guiche's taking this fight really serious, why?"

"You don't know?"

"Know about what?"

"You really don't know about him and the Zero?"

"I know she's spreading her legs for him."

"You idiot, she and him are really close friends, his father owes her mother his life so he got forced to care for that Zero whenever his father told him to."

"Oh man, that must have sucked."

"It did, got even worse when they got to the academy and he had to deal with her here too."

"Damn, I wouldn't want my worst enemy being stuck with someone as useless as her."

The knight met the bronze army charging him, dodging the spear thrust from one of them with a simple sidestep before ripping the pole arm from their bronze hands and putting the spear through their head moments later. He dodged the Valkyrie behind him, avoiding the bronze broadsword it wielded and instead he disarmed it in one of the most literal sense. A simple palm strike ripped the arm from its shoulder, the knight dodging the sudden airborne blade and instead allowing it to impale a Valkyrie to his side as it attempted to attack him form behind.

Two others rushed forward, two bronze swords in the hand of one and a spear and a large shield in the other, a defense that proved worthless as the knight put his foot solidly through the shield, crumpling the arm beneath before pulling his foot free. His foot successfully ripped apart the Valkyrie as he dodged the wild swipes of the other bronze warrior, taking several jumps back and right onto the shaft of another's spear, a swift kick removing it's head from its shoulders and leaving it to crumble to the ground as he jumped off of the spear. He landed on the ground, between three other Valkyries and the knight smirked, something that unnerved the young Gramont, enough for him to summon another wave of Valkyries with another wave of his wand, another golden rose sprouting and it's petals falling to the ground.

"Let's see how well I can still do this." the knight seemed to tense for a moment before he struck, wisps of blue energy trailing in his sudden lightning quick movements as in only three strikes the crumpled forms of the Valkyries crashed into the ground.

Two Valkyries charged the knight once his attack was finished only to be quickly disarmed in a blaze of movement and the weapon of their partner shoved through their skull, a mace to one and a sword to the other. Another tried a single approach from behind, falling as the man seemed to vanish in a burst of the blue energy, appearing behind it with the sword of one of it's fallen sisters in hand, cutting it in half with a one handed slash from above with the blade in his hand. The knight didn't stay armed for long through, a Valkyries wielding a large two handed axe knocking the weapon from his hand a moment later but it seemed this was intentional, the knight's body shooting forward like a bullet from a rifle with the same blue energy behind him.

"Goodbye now." the knight pushed the Valkyrie away, straight into two of it's sisters and Guiche rose a blonde eyebrow at this, not truly understanding what the knight planned before a grand explosion ripped apart the three Valkyries.

'How?' Guiche didn't have much time to ponder how the knight's action was possible, instead he was forced to dodge the knight's next blow coming towards him, narrowly avoided a fist meant to undoubtedly put a hole in his skull as three more Valkyries appeared in muted flashes of light behind the knight.

One was instantly defeated, the blast of blue energy announcing the knight's high speed movement shredding it as if it was paper and the two others would fair no better as the knight set to work in destroying them.

'This will truly take no time at all...how disappointing.'

* * *

The fire didn't last long, very quickly it was gone and now the halls seemed to be surrounded in a soft golden glow, something Louise was for some reason repulsed by, finding the sight of the last almost sickening.

"..."

"What?" Louise looked around her, hearing something but it was too unclear, seemingly echoing from down the halls.

"..."

"What?" Louise asked again, following the echo down the hall.

"...e..."

"Is something here?" Louise changed from a walk to a run, the fires once again igniting behind her and seemingly chasing her but not overtaking her.

"ge...u..."

"Please! Answer me!" Louise rounded the corner of the hall, the once soft golden light enshrouding the halls suddenly flashing harshly.

"GET OUT!"

Louise froze, the scream enough to stop her from a dead sprint as if it was a physical wall. The golden light around her flashed brighter through, revealing something down at the end of the hall, what looked to be a collapsed figure.

"AWAY!"

"LEAVE!"

"...help..."

Instead of what she had come to expect, the single word was a plea, not a booming voice of anger or sorrow, one begging for help even as it would normally be drowned out by the shouts around it, swallowed by them and the softly spoken word unheard.

"...please...help..."

* * *

"Mr. Gramont, is this all you have?" the knight stopped the twin blades of the bronze Valkyrie in front of him with his bare hands, chuckling for a moment before ripping the weapons free of the bronze warrior's grip, taking their hands with them and quickly ripping it into pieces with a powerful slash from both.

'No, no, no!' Guiche held his ground even at his terror, something not at all helped as his last Valkyrie fell before him, something he had sincerely wished would last as he struggled to remain upright from all of the Magic he had used, especially all of the power he had pushed into the last Valkyrie, one the knight defeated in less than ten seconds since it attacked him.

"Not even close Sir Knight!" Guiche hid his desperation, his fear, his exhaustion with a confidant mask as he swept his wand in front of him, another shower of golden petals falling from it only this time they didn't hit the ground.

"I am not impressed." the knight, now in full armor, actually crushed the magic from Guiche in his gauntleted hand, the other pulled down at his side. "If this is all you have then let this blow kill you."

Guiche didn't have a chance to respond to the knight's words, a powerful palm thrust to his midsection throwing him away from the knight, sending him crashing into the ground after a brief flight, the blond haired Nobel letting out a grunt of pain but quickly pulled himself to his feet but couldn't stand to his full height, wincing at his single attempt and nearly collapsing from the wave of pain traveling through him.

'So he does have Magic?' Guiche struggled to keep his eyes open, the unnatural pain flooding his body making it difficult to even keep his wand in hand as he spotted the knight turn away from him, walking towards his sword as he seemed ready to end the brief battle he had with the Noble. 'He must practice something strange to not use a wand but I can't underestimate him because of this.'

Guiche allowed the golden rose to bloom on his wand again, flicking it and this time the entire rose fell to the ground, it fading into the ground on impact and Guiche prayed his spell worked, it was his strongest and something he hoped would prevent the knight from simply killing him.

"This was not a battle to me Guiche de Gramont." the knight grasped his sword with one hand, his voice holding disappointment as he seemed to consider drawing his blade out of the ground or simply ending the battle with his bare hands. "This is barely a training spar for me and yet you seem to be giving it your all."

"In truth, this is a great disappointment if you are one of the better students here. My Queen will need much stronger protectors than the likes of you, Her Majesty will hardly bother with you in truth after this rather abysmal display." the knight released his grip on his blade, instead turning to face Guiche as light seemed to engulf him, seemingly morphing into blazing hot white flames moments later and in his hands he held a pure white bow, a gull quiver of arrows on his back as he seemed to almost lazily reach up and drawn an arrow.

"Make peace for a single shot will kill you."

* * *

"Headmaster Osmond..."

"Not now Longueville, not now."

"But you must interfere or do you wish to see young Gramont die?"

"I cannot, we must simply pray to the Founder that the boy lives through this foolish action."

"And if he does not."

"Then may the Founder await that demon, I will rip him apart the moment the duel is over."

* * *

'No, dammit! NO!' Guiche collapsed, the Magic the knight had used in his blow too much for him. Everything was too much for him, to stand, to speak, to even raise his head, to die with dignity, was too much for the young Gramont.

'Louise...'

_"Why does a rose such as you cry?"_

_"Haven't you heard Guiche! I'm nothing but a failure! A Zero! A hardly deserve to call myself a Noble, I hardly deserve to attend this academy!"_

_"Are you really letting words from the like of Zerbst make you like this?"_

_"What?"_

_"Zerbst is just a bully, someone who enjoys making sweet roses like you cry since she knows she is nothing but a weed that latched onto others."_

_"But she's right, I'm nothing but a failure."_

_"Then I am not the most devilishly handsome Noble to ever grace Tristain."_

_"Guiche..."_

_"Here me now Louise!"_

_"Why are you posing?"_

_"Here me now Louise! You are everything but a Zero! You are a fine Rose that shall bloom when your time comes and the weeds the like of Zerbst will whither before your beauty!"_

_"Guiche..."_

_"Yes my delicate rose?"_

_"...please stop posing."_

_"But I got you to smile, I undoubtedly encouraged you with my magnificent posing! Hahaha!"_

_"You know...I could always practice my spells on you?"_

_"Oh, look at that! Another errand calls me! Bye Louise!"_

'...for all that talk...'

"May your end be swift young Gramont." the knight pulled back his bow, notching a gleaming silver arrow, hints of a light blue running through it as he took careful aim at the collapsed Gramont.

'...I...'

"Die!"

'...I...'

The arrow struck true, throwing the young Gramont back as blood was already pooling around him, soaking his clothes as the knight let his bow seemingly burn away in white flames, truly completely unconcerned at the sight before him.

"GUICHE!"

* * *

AN: Well, that's a wrap.

Now, before I wrap this up, a quick response to reviews: (Note: If any come off as rude I'm sorry, I'm just like that when I respond to some stuff. Sorry in advance.)

idea get the (sorry, the site won't let me write your name as is): They're OC because I want them to be, I can really do whatever I want to the character since this is just fanfiction. Try it sometime.

Fimbu1vetr: I'm not really going to try to keep anything close to canon if I can help it, deal with it.

Telron: Glad you liked it.

MikoCatFace: What the hell is a yandere?

idea get the: DEAL WITH THE OOCNESS.

darkangelwp: Thanks, I'm pretty sure who's the knight is pretty clear now (Or is it?).

Androgynous-Heron: You'll find out who he is soon enough.

LordGhostStriker-Sorry about you being lost, hope the lines between some things helped you.

auraofclam: Once again, they're OC because this is fanfiction and I have no idea what you mean with the epithet thing and it would definitely not be "the Heavy-Handed". The knight has layers, something you'll see throughout the story.

SpaceDandyman: Glad you like it, hope this stays to your expectation.

idea get the: Maybe, maybe not.

JaDe In NighT: Everything will be answered eventually.

NotSoSlimSh4dy: Sorry, this is still really all exposition so no explanations yet but they should happen eventually.

Newbie1104: Sorry about the confusion, first time writing something like this and I hope I can write this better as time passes.

Peace.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Refer to chapters 1,2, or 3 as the same one still applies for this chapter and all other chapters coming after it.

AN: Well, I updated this surprisingly fast actually...I have no idea why so don't expect it all the time.

* * *

"So it is done." the knight dismissed his armor, no use for such things when his opponent laid dying on the ground. "But it seems I have lost some of my accuracy, your heart should truly be missing, erased from this world in truth."

The knight let out a sigh as he walked forward, his sword appearing in his hand, the other lazily slipped inside his pocket as the dying Guiche laid on the ground, blood pooling around him. His crimson eyes were bored, almost lifeless, as he took in Guiche's collapsed form before eventually his eyes locked onto the arrow embedded in the teen's chest, the soft golden glow enveloping it a major reason for it.

"It seems Her Majesty wants you to live, something I perhaps disagree with but will follow." the knight let out another sigh as he allowed bright blue energy to leak from his body before it suddenly shifted to golden. "Yes, she definitely wants you to remain alive if she can affect my power even now."

"I suppose I should remove the arrow." the knight crouched down next to Guiche, an almost disappointed look on his face as he observed a trembling Guiche, the blonde in death's embrace. "It will perhaps help you to expire quicker, I would rather not dirty my blade with blood like yours, your noble, brave, and foolhardy heroic tendencies are almost sickening in truth. A sight I hope not to remember less I empty my stomach."

"Do you require any prays before I finish this duel?" the knight stabbed his sword into the ground, leaning slightly on the blade as he reached out with his now free hand, lightly grasping the shaft of the arrow, unconcerned at the flash of power suddenly sparking down into the teen. A gurgled scream from the teen the only response he could muster as smoke began rising from the wound. "As is my custom, the power I wield shall end you, burning your worthless hide to ash from the inside as I deem fit for a foe such as you. Someone like you, the pest who dare to enter my presence, deserve no less."

Another gurgled scream came from the defeated blonde next to him, the knight allowing a small smile to cross his face when the relaxing scent of burning flesh reached him. It was also with no small amount of satisfaction as he saw several markings on the shaft glow before fading.

'Ahhh...perhaps I will gain something from this endeavor before I return to Her Majesty, something of great use in the future.'

* * *

Louise shot up, suddenly very much awake and terrified at what she saw in her dreams if it could even be called that.

_'...help...please..."_ the voice, the voice of a man who had gone through indescribable torment, who had seen everything they treasured tarnished by his foes. It was horrible to even remember the scene she had stumbled across.

'My familiar went through something like that? He suffered like that! Why? Who would put someone through that!' Louise shuddered at the thought of a person capable of utterly breaking a man like she had seen. What type of twisted, demented, si-

Everything...everything was suddenly very, very wrong.

* * *

The knight looked down at the withering Guiche, a dark grin on his face as he let another wave of power wash over him, ripping another gurgled scream from Guiche. It seemed to amuse the knight, enough so he did it again, another gurgled scream from Guiche the only response.

"You have...potential Guiche Gramont, potential I will see wielded for Her Majesty." the knight released his grip on the arrow, instead his entire body shined with a white light, one of unbridled power, something that made the knight sigh. "It is good to get something like this over with quickly, I care little for rituals at times."

The knight let his hands rest on Guiche's forehead and hovering slightly above the arrow lodged in his chest, golden energy blasting out from his hands and into the blonde haired Noble, spasms sending his body into the air for a moment before he crashed back down as the knight allowed another blast of golden energy to blast from his hands and into Guiche before he spoke again.

"Protect him not from his suffering and protect him not from his torments. Allow him no peace nor allow him rest. Cast him into servitude, to forever serve you. Give him no charity and chain him as your swordsman." the knight's words were haunting to those who heard them, only the dying Guiche as the burn on his chest grew in size and the agony he felt from the knight's flames doubled.

'Louise...what in the name of the Founder have you called here?' Guiche held back his next scream as the knight's arrow began to sink into his chest, the wound long since sealed but he was still alive, despite the undeniable feeling of the arrow in his chest, lodged in his heart.

* * *

"LOUISE!" Kirche von Zerbst chased after the pink topped blur suddenly rushing past her, actually worried for the victim or her constant bullying.

'Tch, what does that girl want now?' Louise was hardly willing to stop her sprint, surprised she could even run as fast as she was before she noticed something, a soft golden light seemingly just under her skin. 'It's that again, huh?'

"LOUISE!" Kirche was panicked, unable to reach the girl as she seemed to go even faster, something the redhead couldn't keep up with but she had a feeling someone else could.

"Flame!" the salamander let out a soft growl as it matched her pace, looking up towards it's master. "Stop her!"

The salamander nodded towards his master before bolting forward, bounding after the running Louise as they neared the entrance to the Vestri Court. The flame on it's tail grew brighter, just before a large fireball suddenly flew past Louise, striking the ground in front of the doorway and a wall of flames sprung to life as Flame stopped in front of the startled pinkette, letting out a soft growl to get the girl's attention, his master already rushing up behind him and letting out a sigh of relief.

"Good Flame." Kirche patted the salamander's head, focusing her attention on the now stopped Louise. "Keep up the barrier, make sure she can't get by but don't hurt her."

* * *

Louise was nearly enraged, the markings covering her body, almost forgotten, beginning to softly glow as she turned to face the annoying Zerbst behind her.

'This...this...' Louise was too angry, unable to think as she only felt the overwhelming desire to finally make the girl who did her best to make her life hell suffer for it, finally suffer after everything she had put her through, finally get what was coming to her for a long time. 'I'm...she'll...AAAAAAHHHHH!'

Magic exploded from around Louise, something that suddenly drew the attention of her Familiar.

* * *

"My Queen..." the knight let a soft frown grace his features as he quickly snapped his fingers, Guiche's eyes suddenly cloudy as the Bounded Field based Illusions collapsed, having drawn to the appropriate conclusion, Guiche pierced by his arrow but something was drastically different. Where in truth it was simply a one-sided contest that the knight completely dominated, the observers saw a clash for the ages as the young Gramont did his best to battle the knight, gaining his respect after a lengthy and drawn out battle, far too dramatic to be true but children like them would eat it up instantly. "...she has..." the knight closed his eyes for a moment, opening them wide seconds later as he seemed to be shocked by what he was seeing. "...awakened!"

He was suddenly gone, blasting through the barriers around the battlefield of the two as he spotted the wall of flames in front of him, blocking him from his Queen and those that needed to be eliminated. He felt his Queen on the other side through so it seemed like he would simply have to go through them, a blue aura engulfing him as he shot forward.

To any observing, he was simply a bullet of raw energy, ripping through the fires of Kirche's salamander and appearing at his Queen's side, his armor covering his form as his sword was drawn, pointed directly at Kirche, the Germanian suddenly terrified for her life as she took several steps back, Flame growling at the knight in front of him. The Familiar knew there was something wrong with the man in front of him, something inside him nearly screamed to attack, to rip him apart, to kill the threat to not only his master but perhaps the entire kingdom.

* * *

"You're late." Louise didn't turn to face the knight, instead, she kept her suddenly hateful eyes locked with Kirche's own suddenly fearful eyes.

"I apologize my Queen, I was occupied with a duel." the knight lowered his weapon, his crimson eyes dismissing the two in front of him but his eyes suddenly widened at the sight of his Queen.

'No...' the knight quickly quelled his panic allowing a small smirk to grace his face. 'No, this could be of some use...despite the..._issues_...yes, issues, this may cause, I can still use this to the benefit of Her Majesty.' the knight turned away from Louise deciding to, for now, ignore the soft golden glow seemingly permanently beneath her skin since she had awoken from her slumber. 'It is, as always, trivial to Her Majesty's might.'

'Nothing may rival her power, my Queen shall be safe.' the knight dismissed his armor at that point, the two in front of him simply ants he could crush later as he instead turned to his Queen, the young girl looking up into his crimson eyes.

"My Queen, my opponent requires assistance, something I believe only you can provide."

* * *

Louise turned to the knight as he spoke, her anger suddenly fading as his suddenly glowing crimson eyes locked with her own.

"Allow me to deal with this nuisance for you. My Queen, you should head to your...friend." the last word, for some reason, seemed to be a struggle for the knight to pronounce, something Louise took no notice of as she wordlessly turned and walked through the flames behind her, the golden glow around her suddenly strengthening and Kirche was somewhat shocked when the flames were simply gone the moment they made contact with the golden light. It was also worth noticing that the knight showed some discomfort, turning away from the light and doing his best to keep his exposed face away from it.

"May the Father of Understanding guide my blade. May the Mother of wisdom gift me with knowledge. And May Her Majesty forgive me." the knight whispered his pray, his features immediately relaxing as the golden light that touched his face did nothing to him. "Foolish child, they still fight even now it seems, a pointless endeavor before the might of Her Majesty."

"What the hell does any of that mean?" Kirche kept her wand pointed at the Familiar, the knight simply chuckling as he turned to face her, the golden light now completely gone. "Answer me commoner!"

"Pro..." the knight didn't finish his words, suddenly one of his gauntleted hands held his head as he hunched over before a grin not out of place on a crazed man spread across his face. "No? Yes, no. You do not want her? Why not?"

The knight's grip tightened as he seemed to grimace in pain, something he quickly grew used to as he once again rose to his full height.

"I understand. She is one of _them_, a potential throne in the plan. She could perhaps interfere in one of the Blessings."

"Fla..." Kirche couldn't finish her word, the knight was suddenly in front of her, his sword keeping her Familiar pinned to the ground as it let out a roar of agony. Kirche herself could do nothing as she struggled to draw in any breath at all, the knight's armored hands wrapping around her throat making that borderline impossible at the moment. But all of that paled in comparison to the raw bloodlust suddenly filling the hall.

"I shall eliminate her."

* * *

"Remarkable, truly remarkable...I've never seen something like this before, my, I believe no one has ever seen healing magic like this." the Square-Class Water Mage that was the matron of the Academy's infirmary marveled at the sight of young Gramont's rapidly healing injuries, courtesy of whatever odd healing spell Louise had performed on him, guided by her Familiar, quite the curious character from his great knowledge, once she had barged into the infirmary screaming for help as her Familiar carried the wounded Noble in his arms.

"Will he be okay nurse?" Louise was still worried, the knight behind her as he once again moved without his armor, simply standing behind the young girl with his arms crossed in front of him and only his sword across his back in a silver and blue sheath, something secured by a silver and gold strap across his chest.

"He will be fine Ms. Valliere, I know that for sure and it's all thanks to you and that incredible healing magic you just mus-"

"Only the Queen may know that spell, it is her divine right to remove the sickness and injuries of those she chooses to." the knight interrupted the excited nurse, stopping her from getting the spell from Louise. "No other may even consider using such power, it is hers because she is the Queen."

"Alright then..." the nurse was somewhat discouraged and also slightly afraid of the knight despite the bored tone he spoke in, not even bothering to look at her and instead focused on the redhead laying on a bed nearby. "I guess I'll go continue working on Ms. Zerbst, I wish I knew what happened to her, those injuries could possibly be life threatening if we're not careful."

"Really?" Louise looked towards the knight, a small almost unnoticeable smirk on his face as he looked on the thoroughly punished redhead, his Queen's former tormentor would be lucky to live the next few weeks without constant agony. "That's...sad."

"Yes truly, she was always such a nice and bright girl and would have truly excelled if not for these injuries, she'll be lucky to use magic again at all, very few can recover from losing their Familiar as she did and at such a young age, her grief will be unbearable to her and her family."

"Yes, it is so sad." the knight let out a small chuckle at the end of his words, walking out and his Queen following him after making sure Guiche was okay, the burn on his chest already healing due to the golden light encasing him, slowly healing him.

"My Queen, what shall we do now? Perhaps go after the girl's attacker? Avenge the death of her Familiar?" the knight looked towards Louise, the markings adorning her body now crimson after what he had done to Kirche and the power he needed to deal with her surprisingly volatile Familiar.

"No, the school will sort it out...I hate her anyway." Louise swept back her long pink hair with one hand, sighing as she stopped in the middle of the hall. "...but...I'll never forgive myself if I did nothing so we'll go investigate I suppose."

* * *

"Where...where am I? What is this place?" Guiche found himself in a very similar position to Louise, trapped in a seemingly abandoned replica of the school.

"My home...at least what is left of it." a voice spoke from behind him, making the blonde turn to see a startling sight. An almost identical figure to the knight he had just battled, the same knight who had rushed him to the hospital with Louise after it looked like the wound he dealt him would be fatal. All that was different was the figure's blonde hair and haunted green eyes, if the hair was white and the eyes were crimson he would be looking at a copy of the noble knight he battled.

"What do you mean?" Guiche was on guard, his wand in his hand and he was ready to fight the knight in front of him, covered in elegant silver armor with a blue robe on underneath, a blade at his side in a scabbard that seemed...worn would be the correct word, the only one Guiche could come up with to describe the sheath at the knight's side, the faded blue and gold coloring it hardly recognizable.

"I shall explain as we walk...please, allow me to warn you of what I was not." the copy of the knight extended his hand to Guiche, the blonde hesitating before accepting, the knight letting out a sigh as he seemed to gain the boy's trust, glad to finally have someone listen to him after what seemed like a long time.

"Thank you noble sir, thank you so much for this." the knight began walking as he was followed by Guiche, the young Noble interested as a golden light seemed to cover him, coming from the knight.

* * *

'I suppose I should have expected this.' the knight let out a sigh as he leaned against the wall, allowing Louise to look over the remains he left. He had already removed the body of the salamander, intending to at least understand the bond between Master and Familiar, something he needed to know if the Blessing was to succeed and _they_ were not to interfere if he did everything right.

"This was brutal." Louise looked around, at the various bloodstains from where Kirche had been attacked to the charred corpses of the three students that had come across her crazed Familiar before her knight found them, saving two others from similar fates. "I'm glad you arrived when you did."

"I am here to serve my Queen." the knight gave a small bow, a small smile on his face, one mirrored by Louise as she looked down at her hands, the crimson markings barely visible as they extended slightly past her wrists.

"I'm glad I called you Sir Knight, that crazy salamander would have killed dozens of more people if you hadn't been here to stop it." Louise looked away from the bodies, their blackened bodies unrecognizable.

_"You would do best not to trust him, Louise." _the voice that simply would not leave her alone since she had healed Guiche once again spoke, something she ignored for the moment. _"I am here because I did the same you blasted girl!"_

'And why would my knight even know you?'

_"He was once my most trusted knight, even now he wears the armor I so graciously gifted to him! He uses the same blade I allowed him to draw from the field of battle! Even now he tricks you the same way he tricked me!"_

'I should expect something like that from a Demon, Sir Knight trapped you inside his Holy Sword and now you're trying to get out, yet again.'

_"THAT IS MY BLADE! HE SEALED ME INSIDE THROUGH COWARDLY PLOTS, VILE LIES, AND DESPICABLE BETRAYALS!"_

"That's just what a Demon would say." Louise caught her knight looking at her out of the corner of her eyes, looking away from the doors he had closed behind them and instead looking at her. Something undoubtedly brought on by her seemingly speaking to herself.

_"Please, listen to me! Allow me to prevent my fate from befalling others!"_ the knight tuned away from her, making Louise breath a sigh of relief.

'I don't believe I want to anymore.'

_'Please...wait. If you shall do this one thing for me I will no longer ask you for anything."_

'And what is that?'

_'Simply ask of him his name.'_

"Sir Knight, may you please come to me?"

"My Queen." the knight was suddenly in front of her, crouching down to be on her level as his hands held her shoulders. "Do you require something? Perhaps someone to talk to in such a dire time?"

Louise sighed as she looked down at her hands, the muted golden glow slightly faded before she looked up to once again lock eyes with the knight.

"I need to ask you something."

"Yes my Queen?"

"What is your name?"

The knight froze, only for an instant, something the untrained eye would never catch, before he swiftly recovered and a small grin spread across his face, his crimson eyes shining with amusement as one hand gently combed through Louise's light pink locks, such a soothing feelings spreading through her she ignored the sudden scream from the Demon her knight had sealed away.

"My Queen...my name has long been lost." the knight oddly spoke his words with a smile as Louise seemed confused. Rightfully so as how could someone forget their own name? It would seem impossible but he had somehow done so and seemed unconcerned as well. "I have lived for countless ages I have seen empires rise and I have seen kingdoms fall. I have seen thousands of battles, thousands of wars, and, through it all I have sadly forgotten my name. I am simply the knight of Her Majesty, sworn to defend and protect her."

"Do you have anything to tell? Anything at all?" Louise's questions were met with a small chuckle from the knight, turning away from Louise as he instead walked away.

"I was once...long, long ago...called Kaine Lucifer, a title gifted to me by the Rightful King I once served. It was not long ago I saw him pass from my world and onto the next, something that made me cast side such a name and instead be free of such a thing again. But, as you can see, I am once again in the service of royalty, my Queen, and thus I suppose it is only fitting I take on the same name as I was gifted with so long ago." the knight turned and gave a large bow to Louise, his armor appearing in white fire running up and down his body. "I am Sir Kaine, Her Majesty's ever loyal knight, among other titles I have acquired, many call me the Ageless Blade but I beg of you to simply call me Sir Kaine."

"Kaine..." Louise paused, as if considering the name before smiling at her knight, one he returned as he held his hand out for his Queen. "I do believe it fits you through is sounds very foreign."

"It is of a time long ago as I said it was given to my by the Rightful King." the knight hid his grin, the circumstances of his...naming far too amusing to hide it successfully.

"Then let it be known from now on you are Sir Kaine Lucifer, my Familiar and my knight."

"I shall try to not disappoint you my Queen."

* * *

AN: Well, for some reason I felt like updating this sooner than I planned so enjoy. To probably everybody, this has confused you greatly or answered a lot of questions. I frankly have no idea but, just so you know, I am workings towards an endgame with every mystery I present.

But now I guess I should answer the reviews I got after my last update, so here we go:

idea get the (sorry, site still won't let me put your name as is): Yeah, sorry if that got dark for a second there. As for the slow updates...deal with it. I will literally update everything I do sporadically, I have no set schedule so sorry in advance if this story ever goes months without updates.

Telron: Well, he's not dead. Soon he'll wish he was but as of now he seems to have "luck" on his side.

Reishin Amara: Nope! Not at all! But there's reason fort his, trust me when I say there's a lot going on this chapter. Most of it build up for the next few, ones where more about the knight will be revealed.

Well, that's it so...

Peace.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own and/or claim to own any recognizable and/or licensed material appearing in this of fiction in any way, shape, and/or form. I am not attempting to and/or making a profit in any way, shape, and/or form from this work of fiction. All recognizable and/or licensed material appearing in his work of fiction belongs to their respective owner in every way, shape, and/or form under the fullest extent of the law of their region.

AN: Well, sorry about this but I had a few problems with this update.

* * *

In the Tristain Academy of Magic, in the office of the school's Headmaster, the aged leader of the school went over both the papers that came with running a school as well as a large book he occasionally wrote in, multi-tasking rather well for the Headmaster, most of the teachers at the school could hardly begin to understand the book on his desk let alone manage the paperwork he had been doing for the past few hours, since the duel between Guiche and the knight ended.

"Hmm, if I rewrote this or perhaps added an additional ring, I could more than double the strength of the spell but also risk a large loss in Magic, something I can afford but I hardly believe Jean could do the same if his condition does not improve in the next few days. I suppose I will have to settle for two additional rings, both should remove much of the strain if I finish them tonight. Of course I could accomplish the same with...no, it would react quite badly with this ring here and I would have to start over from scratch if I removed it. I suppose it is back to the drawing board again...for the fifth time today. Blast it." the aged Headmaster held back his irritation as he turned to the next page in the book, once again beginning to write in it even as his Familiar rushed into the office and up his shoulder, the mouse leaning into his ear and the Headmaster sighed as he closed the book and pushed it into an open draw on his desk before kicking it closed.

Just in time it seemed, Longueville was just about to knock when with a wave of his hand the door opened for the green haired woman, a minor look of surprise on her face before she stepped into the office. Osmond pushed away his paperwork and looked towards his secretary.

"Good evening Headmaster." the green haired secretary's greeting was met by a snort from the aged Osmond.

"What's good about such an evening like this, Ms. Longueville?" Osmond's response was enough to make Longueville show some discomfort before she quickly recovered.

"Oh, my apologies Headmaster, but I-" Longueville couldn't finish her sentence, Osmond leaning back in his chair as he interrupted her.

"Ms. Longueville, how is Colbert doing?" the Headmaster's words brought a deep sigh from the secretary as she pulled a pamphlet of papers out from under her arms.

"He is still sleeping and after the matron examined him, she told me that he will need several days of rest before he should be moved, something concerning his Magic being strained for some reason, as if it is bei-" Once again, Osmond interrupted Longueville.

"I know what is happening to him Ms. Longueville, simply send the matron a message to meet me in my office tonight so I can explain it to her and answer the questions she will have." as Osmond spoke, Longueville quickly wrote a brief note to herself to remember such a thing.

"Of course." Longueville looked back up at Osmond after briefly looking down to write her note, spotting his Familiar scramble down his arm before she lost sight of him, probably spotting something on the floor and going to get it.

"Now, onto the next matter I asked you to look into?" Osmond leaned forward on his fingers as he laced them together, his eyes locking with Longueville's as she looked away for a moment, wiping away the tears threatening to spill out her eyes as she looked through her papers to distract herself.

"Yes, Ms. Zerbst has been diagnosed by the matron as almost a lost cause, the shock that went through her system when she lost her Familiar was too much for her. She believes she will never be the same even if she awakens from the coma she fell in. This does not account for her numerous injuries as they make her condition much worse, making it something even the Founder himself may perhaps call it hopeless. The damage, coupled with the shock her Magic went through, is simply too much for someone so young." Longueville finished her report from the matron of the Academy's infirmary, wiping away any remaining tears in her eyes as she looked up to the Headmaster, the aged man showing his vast age at that moment.

"This is horrible." Osmond's statement was an understatement, the situation Kirche found herself in was a horrible one and something he wouldn't wish on his worst enemies.

"Yes it is, Ms. Zerbst was such a promising student." Longueville was surprised when the Headmaster let out a snort, something that quickly snapped her out of her sadness at Kirche's current health, drawing her anger at his disregard towards such a thing.

"No, the Academy, despite what I may try to say to oppose it, is responsible for Ms. Zerbst's condition and we will have war on our hands if we aren't careful, something I fear we cannot avoid if such a promising girl has been crippled on the school grounds, in the lands of Tristain no less." Osmond's words quickly made the green haired woman's expression change from anger to horror at such a thought of war, especially with what the lands faced at the moment, war on top of Reconquista was a horrible thing.

"Surely the Germanians won't treat this that seriously, right? The Reconquista are the more pressing concern, right Headmaster?" Longueville didn't do a very good job of hiding her growing fear at such a thought, enough to make it difficult to stand and a chair lightly bumping into her leg was welcomed.

"No, not to the Germanians once they hear what has happened to one of their own, the Zerbst family is both well known and connected in that country, they will demand vengeance." Osmond was very quickly glad when he had brought the chair over for Longueville, the woman looked ready to faint if her rapidly paling complexion was a sign.

"On Tristain when it was her Familiar that did it?" Longueville's words were met by a harsh mirthless laugh from the Headmaster.

"No, on the knight that slayed her Familiar, they will blame him for what has become of Kirche and will do their best to avenge such a slight on their family." Osmond sighed as Longuville's paper fell out of her hands, the dawning realization that a terrible thing was approaching the academy enough for her to do so.

"By the Founder, will they really do that?" Longueville's words were met by a harsh laugh from Osmond as he looked to the side, towards the map of Halkengekia adorning most of the wall.

"There is no reason for such a family not to call for such a thing, that and more will lead to Germania demanding the knight be handed over to them." Osmond didn't turn away from the map, his hands balled into fists in front of him a startling sight for Longueville, the Headmaster rarely visibly expressed his anger.

"But Louise would never allow it and if they hurt her then..." Longueville trailed off, not able to finish her sentence as she clutched at her beating heart, fear of what was to come, of the person who would then act if Louise was heart a terrifying thought.

"Yes, the Heavy Wind will once again stir." Osmond successfully terrified his secretary than, the woman close to simply screaming out of fear if the Heavy Wind truly was coming to the Academy.

"If that is to happen, if she once again goes on the warpath against Germania especially while she is leading Tristain's forces in Albion..."

"Yes, we will be on the verge of a conflict fit to throw the world into chaos." Osmond finished Longueville's sentence for her, making the green haired woman fall backwards in her chair, her head falling over the backrest.

"Dear Founder, that is horrible."

"Yes, it is and I will do my best to avoid such a situation."

"How?" Longueville perked up at Osmond's words, seeing some hope in avoiding a horrible future.

"I have my ways Ms. Longueville, I have my ways." Osmond's cryptic answer brought only a questioning glance from Longueville, thee secretary cocking her head to the side.

"May I a-"

"Perhaps you should go check on Professor Colbert's condition, I do believe he needs to be watched by someone capable of talking him down if he wakes up in hysterics and I believe you are best suited for that Ms. Longueville." Osmond interrupted Longueville with his suggestion, the secretary once again cocking her head to the side to express her confusion.

"Headmaster, I don't believe I'm the best choi-"

"Now Ms. Longueville, don't take me for a fool. I've seen the way you two look at each other, love truly is an amazing this, is it not Ms. Longueville?" Osmonds's words brought a startling bright blush from his secretary as she hastily rose from her seat, quickly gathering her papers from off the floor where they had fallen.

"I-I-I-I have to go now Headmaster, I need to make sure the school is in order and such!" Longueville left the office with far greater speed than she entered it with, the Headmaster chuckling at her behavior until she closed the door and his Familiar, having worked his way over to the bookcase next to it during their conversation, pressed a mark on the bottom of the bookcase, beneath the last shelf, and the door seemed to glow for a moment before no sound reached the room from the hall outside or any sound from the room reached the hall outside.

Satisfied nothing would reach them, the Headmaster reached into his desk and drew out two letters placing them on the desk and shrinking them as his Familiar scurried up the desk leg, simply looking at him for a moment and a silent conversation passed between the long bonded friends, one that ended with a nod from the small Familiar before grabbing the two letters and racing out as the Headmaster rose from his desk, turning to look out at the Academy ground below him.

'Let this not come back to hurt either of them in the end but I need that demon out of the Academy for now. I need time to prepare Jean's plan without interruption or it discovering any part of it and perhaps this will appease the Germanians as well, at least enough to do something more reasonable.'

* * *

"My Queen, perhaps we should not be there? Several students are in a critical condition inside." the fully armored knight followed after Louise, the pink haired Noble walking determinedly towards the infirmary and seemingly nothing would be able to stop the small girl.

"No, I refuse to leave...what did you call it again Sir Kaine?" Louise paused as she seemed to forget the name of the object she looked to remove from Guiche, embarrassed at such a thing and something that made the knight struggle with a grin to her now growing annoyance.

"Avalon: Ever Distant Utopia, the tool of Her Majesty, My Queen." Kaine failed to hold back his grin yet again, the memories his "name" brought him far too entertaining to simply not find some humor in. The look his face would forever be a treasured memory for him. "It holds powerful abilities comparable to the Founder himself at times."

"I never told you to exaggerate it Kaine." Louise rolled her eyes at the knight's words, the knight simply shrugging as he adjusted the strap on one of his silver bracers, tightening it after he experienced some discomfort, the piece of armor was looser than he was used to. "The Fonder can never be equaled even by the greatest Nobles like the Princess of Tristain."

"My Queen, that is a lie." Kaine finished adjusting his rather loose armor piece, stopping as he looked towards the Noble. "Her Majesty holds power the Founder may only dream of, YOU hold power he may only dream of."

Kaine's words only brought a horrified gasp from the pink haired Noble as before she knew it she had slapped the knight, his head snapping to the side and both were wide eyed, the knight at his Queen's actions and Louise at such a thought, let alone actually saying something as ridiculous as that.

"That is sheer lunacy Sir Kaine! The Founder will never be equaled, he was the greatest Noble to ever live, the greatest Magic user to ever exist, he surpasses even the Elves that run amok in the Holy Lands! It would be wise never to talk like that again Sir Kaine! Those are the words of a heretic!"

The knight sighed as he bowed to the pink haired Noble, somewhat disappointed at her reaction to his words but she was still his Queen and thus she must be obeyed, Her Majesty must always be obeyed.

"Of course my Queen, forgive me for such words." Kaine quickly rose from his bow, instead he simply waited for Louise to once again begin walking, something she did a few moments after looking at the knight, seemingly looking for something but not finding it. Carrying on, the two walked without another word, instead Louise fell into her thoughts.

'Why did that demon try to turn me against Sir Kaine? It doesn't make much sense for it to even begin to think I would listen to such a creature. But, despite it's attempt to deceive me, it did help me learn about Sir Kaine, it is such a shame that he forgot his name. It must be terrible for something like that to happen.' Louise looked at the knight, his eyes sweeping over the hall as he walked next to her, possibly following a habit of looking out for threats. 'Perhaps living for so long isn't as great as many Nobles think, to forget your own name must truly be a terrible thing for Sir Kaine. I wonder how he handles it so...calmly.'

Louise was snapped out of her thoughts when Kaine stepped in front of her, putting a hand out to his side as he simply looked down the hall, someone rounding the corner in front of them moments later and freezing when a sword was leveled at them.

"I see, my apologies Ms. Longueville." Kaine quickly withdrew his sword from the throat of a terrified Longueville, the secretary paling as she hastily backed away from the apologetic knight, bowing to her as he sheathed the blade Louise hadn't even see him draw. "Are you in need of assistance Ms. Longueville?"

"N-no, I'm simply coming from the infirmary, I need to go see Professor Colbert, make sure he's alright." at Longueville's mention of Professor Colbert, Louise stepped up to Longueville, stepping past the knight and ignoring the way he seemed to freeze as she did so.

"What happened to Professor Colbert, Ms. Longueville? Is he alright?" Louise's question was met with a surprised look from Longueville as she stepped up to the pink haired Noble.

"You don't know that he's been bedridden Ms. Valliere? I thought you would have learned about it by now, you've been up for most of the day!" Louise looked towards the ground as she remembered how her knight overreacting had put her into bed for quite some time before she looked back up at Longueville.

"I'm afraid I've been busy mostly and with what happened to Zerbst..." Louise trailed off, Longueville sadly nodding.

"Ah, my apologies for bringing up something so unpleasant, I'm simply glad you're Familiar arrived in time to stop anymore from dying." Longueville gave a grateful smile to Kaine as he stood behind Louise, the knight nodding in acknowledgement.

"Yes, my knight was great when he stopped Zerbst's mad salamander." Louise glanced past Longueville, spotting the doors of the infirmary down the hall. "I'm sorry to cut our talk short Ms. Longueville but we have to visit the infirmary to check on Guiche, he was injured earlier and I want to make sure my knight didn't cause any lasting harm to him."

"Of course Ms. Valliere, I hope he's doing better." Longueville nodded to both before she walked off, heading down the halls and most likely towards Colbert's private quarters at the academy.

"My Queen, I believe all Mr. Gramont requires now is rest, something he can get while you do the same." Kaine's words were met with a small laugh from Louise as se continued to the infirmary.

"I believe I've rested enough today Sir Kaine, I would rather not go back to bed unt-" Louise froze as a wave of exhaustion hit her, a gold shimmer bordering her vision as her eyes closed, the pink haired Noble falling back and into the arms of Kaine, a visible expression of annoyance marring his face with a frown as he turned and walked away from the infirmary.

'I do not need any more time wasted, I need to deal with Colbert before he can become a nuisance.'

Kaine tensed for a brief moment before he shot down the halls, the only thing marking his passing being wisps of blue energy as he came to a stop outside of Louise's room, quickly opening the door and walking over to Louise's bed. Gently setting his Queen down, Kaine waved a hand around him, Louise quickly dressed in her night clothes as the knight had already turned and marched towards the door before pausing.

'Perhaps I am making the wrong decision and today is not a day to push my luck I believe.' Kaine turned back to the now tucked in Louise, already he had changed what she had seen to better explain why she was once again in bed. 'I perhaps should go about this slower.' the knight fully took in Louise, a wave of his hand and her clothes were gone as he observed the markings covering her body, the markings of Her Majesty, someone he had sworn to protect always, to always stand by their side no matter what. Something he had once forgotten by the actions of her enemies, his memories themselves a casualty of his battle with them.

_"Who are you!"_

_"Who are you?"_

_"Answer me you devil! I am-"_

_"You are mine and you will remember it now."_

_"What wit-ARGH!"_

_"Remember, remember and learn your place at my side once again my knight."_

Kaine let a humorless grin spread across his face as he walked over to his Queen, a wave of his hand and everything was back to the way it should be as he sat down in the chair next to her bed, the light golden shine around his Queen seemingly extending to wrap around him but something he moved away from, his hand, unarmored, reaching out to touch her own quickly drawn back as he simply looked at his Queen, a small smile coming across his face as he observed her at peace.

'Peace...such a maddening delusion...one so many fall to before they are shown the truth.'

* * *

Kaine awoke silently, having not moved from his spot in the chair since he had allowed himself to rest as he quickly rose to his feet, the unfamiliar lightness revealing to him that he must have dismissed his armor while asleep, something he didn't bother to correct in his present circumstances. The only thing he would need in the school would be his blade and that something was easily done, a simply thought and it was yet again strapped across his back as he moved over to Louise, his Queen still asleep but with a wave of his hand everything was prepared for her awakening as Kain decided to yet again sit in a chair next to her bed and rest for a moment longer before he spotted something quite odd on his Queen's bedside.

It was a sealed letter, a wax seal doing so and looking to be in the shape of the emblem he had seen at the Academy doors when he entered. It seems it was some type of business concerning the school and if it was left in his Queen's room then he needed to know what it was and see if it endangered Her Majesty in anyway. His mind made up at this thought, Kaine picked up the letter and quickly broke the seal, opening the letter the unfolding the paper inside it. Looking over it Kaine was slightly amused at the contents of the letter but finding some parts of it unfitting he decided to change it.

A snap of his fingers later and a new letter laid in his hands as the other was crumpled into a ball before bursting into burning red flames, being thrown into the trash moments later. Placing the new letter down on the bedside table, Kaine leaned back in his chair and with free time on his hand he decided to use it for the better and think, something he had not done for what seemed like a long time.

'The Blessings must be completed soon, it won't last long without it and I require more power at my disposal as well, something I cannot waste keeping that fool contained. His contact with Louise only makes it more pressing that I complete them quickly, I do not wish to have another one of his wars at hands, they are always far too organized. It seems that having nothing but time on your hand can help you win a battle, something that annoyance has shown numerous times. I will have to rethink my plans if I cannot do something to change that.'

As Kaine fell to his thoughts, he kept some of his focus on Louise, looking for any sign of her moving, wanting to be ready for her sudden awakening and a glance at the letter at her bedside was enough to aggravate him.

'Yet that letter cannot be ignored, the original may have been replaced with my own but they retain the same basic message, something I am sure I will not enjoy doing and will only endanger my Queen, something that should not ever be done to Her Majesty, it would destroy my pride as her ever loyal knight if that was too occur. Something that shall simply not do if Her Majesty is to be protected properly and that is something I cannot be ensured properly if on this...this excursion.' Kaine glared at the letter but quickly cooled his temper as he instead turned his focus yet again to his Queen and with a flick of his wrist, a golden mist flew from his Queen and with a slight shudder Kaine allowed it to enter himself yet again. 'It seems I will never be quite use to that feeling, quite disappointing really.'

"My Queen, it is time to awaken, we have much do to today." Kaine reached forward and gently shook Louise's and with a yawn Louise slowly opened her eyes before a scarlet blush rose on her cheeks.

"S-S-Sir Kaine! What happened last night!" Louise's memory of last night was slightly hazy, she remembered heading to the infirmary with Sir Kaine and making sure Guiche was alright before they left, coming across a large group of boys seemingly camping outside the infirmary once word of Kirche's condition spread around the school. They had swarmed her, screaming at her blame and curses about her being the reason Kirche was hurt before her knight had stepped in, quickly dissuading them from continuing with a Wind Spell, something the Heavy Wind wouldn't have been adverse to using, a massive gust of wind comparable to a cyclone swept the boys away after a single swing of her knight's sword. Slightly shaken by the event and after expressing her gratitude towards Sir Kaine, he had taken her back to her quarters where he had calmed her down after nearly being attacked by the group of angry boys, their jeers bringing back painful memories of being alone at the Academy except for Guiche, memories especially of the times he was too busy to spend time with her, he was still a Noble of a prestigious family and unlike her he made himself live up to the expectations of his family while she could only fail hers for the longest.

"After you fell asleep I rested as well my Queen. Also, if I may ask, what were your dreams this night my Queen? You seemed troubled in your sleep but I didn't wish to wake you as you needed your sleep after such an experience." Kaine's eyes held an honest care for Louise, something that made her look away as she instead focused on the blankets covering her leg.

"It was those boys...you weren't with me either..." Louise didn't go any further, her hands balled into fists on the blanket and the knight seemed to understand, moving from the chair to sit on the bed next to her and gently hold her shoulders.

"My Queen, such a notion is pure fantasy. I shall never abandon you as long as I draw breath and strength still lies within me." Kaine held a shaking Louise as she allowed her tears to fall, her knight moving slightly so she was now sitting in his lap as he rested his back on the headboard of her bed. "I am here my Queen, there is no reason to fear anything for I am your shield against such things and if necessary I shall be your blade to destroy them."

"Kaine..." Louise sobbed as she remembered her dream but also her refusal to go in deeper into it.

She didn't tell him how she had unleashed a power she didn't know she had, Magic itself bent to her will with ease as she tore apart the boys trying to hurt her, the gently urgings of the knight filling her ears, a will stranger to her guiding her arms, power unlike any other feeling her entire body as she ripped apart her tormentor, more and more of them coming. They all finally faced justice for what they had done to her, she had torn them apart for all the jeers, all the taunts, everything they had ever done to her was repaid in full in that dream.

'I should feel disgusted with myself but...but I'm not. I LOVE it, I LOVE that power, I wanted to use it in the end, I wanted to hurt them all like they hurt me for so long. I wanted to make them suffer like they made me suffer every day ever since they had first called me Zero. I...I...'

"My Queen, your dream, how did it end?" Sir Kaine's words brought her out of her thoughts, Louise remembering vividly the way she had stood covered in blood, a power unlike any other filling her and the lovely sensations that spread across her entire body, enough to make her shiver even remembering the power she held.

"It was...you saved me...you stopped them..." Louise words were met with a small smile from the knight, one that made her duck her head with a blush on her cheeks as he pulled her closer.

"As I said, I shall never abandon you my Queen."

'Yes...I'm glad you're fine with my lies.'

* * *

Nearby, in the Academy, a certain blue haired girl awoke, glancing down at the book she had fell asleep with before sighing as she closed it and placed it on her nightstand, instead of reading it as she would like, she had some things to do today that were more important than reading. Grabbing her staff as she walked past it, the girl leaned out her window whistling for a moment before with a wave of her staff, a large book floated over from the shelves and she opened it as she sat on the windowsill, reading perhaps half a page before falling back, right onto the back of the dragon behind her.

"Good time Sylphid, you're getting faster." Tabitha patted the dragon, receiving a purr in return as she quickly opened up her book, a rather old and rather unknown medical text she was intent to finish in the next few days. Originally she planned to read them all much later, in her last year of the Academy, but her plans had quickly changed once Kirche was hurt so severely when her Familiar lost it's mind and attacked it's master, close to killing her if Louise's knight hadn't intervened in time and stopped it. With her friend's condition fresh in her mind, Tabitha was determined to do what she could for her and thus all of her medical books were pushed towards the top of her reading list. She would have flown around on Sylphid for most of the day if something falling out of the book didn't catch her attention, quickly placing it down and making a panicked grab for it, horrified it may be a loose page that fell out. Once she had grabbed it she quickly realized that wasn't true and instead it was a letter.

A letter on her nightstand would have laid forgotten but that was changed if it instead slipped out of the book she had spotted her reading ever since she heard of Kirche's condition and the name on the end of it made her eyes widen in shock.

'Headmaster Osmond! What could he possibly want with me?'

* * *

AN: And here is another chapter of Zero's Knight, more set up than anything as I need to do a few things in the next few chapters and I didn't want too much in this one besides what I put in. Anyway, sorry for the long time between updates but I recently got inspiration for a few onshots/stories and had to at least write down some notes on them before I did anything else.

But besides that let's move onto the reviews since the last update:

Telron: Well, I won't say that's the knight is mad but he does have many plans in the future and all of them involve Louise in some way, most of them good.

Indecisive Bob: Thanks, I actually try my best to change canon as much as possible if I write a story since I try to do something different with everything I write. Hope you enjoyed it and you're dead right, what Louise wants isn't always what the knight thinks his Queen needs.

Willgm: Sadly, the first part of that is wrong but the rest is pretty accurate except for a few things I don't expect you to know.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own and/or claim to own any recognizable and/or licensed material in this work of fiction in any way, shape, and/or form. I am not attempting to and/or making a profit in any way, shape, and/or form from this work of fiction. All recognizable and/or licensed material appearing in this work of fiction belongs to the owners in every way, shape, and/or form to the fullest extent of the law.

AN:...Hi? Yep, this took forever but it happens. I was sitting on these two chapters for months.

* * *

"Are you sure it was wise to send them out?" Longueville looked at the glass sphere that rested on Osmond's desk, the two observing the two Nobles out tracking down Kirche's attacker, at least to the green haired woman.

The aged Noble was silent for a moment, his eyes focused on the knight walking behind Louise, his red eyes not focused on the pink haired Noble for once. No, they were focused on the girl she was traveling with, the only one he could trust to keep Louise safe with Colbert unavailable at the moment, an action he would not regret making for now.

"It was the only choice I had." Osmond sighed as his eyes turned towards the window. "I would like nothing more than to keep Vailliere here but that is not an option I have available at the moment."

"But why send someone like Tabitha, she may be a Chevalier but it is still far from enough to handle that monster!"

"Trust my words Ms. Longueville, I had no choice but to send Tabitha with her, I cannot free her if that creature is constantly around. It is powerful enough to disrupt anything I do long before it can come to fruition."

"But you could have sent one of the professors with them or…or…anything would have been better than sending Ms. Valliere out with that monster at her side!" Longueville was clearly panicked as she stared at the knight through the glass sphere, shaking as she observed the gently smiling knight adjust Louise's cloak. "He makes her grow more and more closer to him with every passing second! He must be leeching off of her strength to sustain himself and the longer you keep him near her, the stronger he'll become!"

"I know that Ms. Longueville." Osmond sighed as he cast the glass sphere aside, it rolling away and into a drawer he had left open after retrieving it. "I simply have no choice if I wish to rid the Academy and Halkeginia as a whole from the stench of that creature."

"Then it's not a demon?" Longueville's words were met by a harsh laugh from the headmaster as his eyes seemed to look past her, far past her.

"Believe me Ms. Longueville, I have seen demons and I have seen all manners of creatures besides them, even the elves that plague the Holy Lands, yet I have never seen a creature like this knight." Osmond either didn't acknowledge or didn't see Longueville beginning to shake, tremors brought forth by fear consuming her body. "This knight, the creature Louise has called forth, violates nature itself in many ways, a cry of blasphemy against the Founder himself with its mere existence. The knight is no demon, it is infinitely worse."

"May the Founder watch over us and protect Ms. Valliere."

"Indeed."

Throughout their conversation, neither of the two Nobles noticed the darkened shadows beneath them or the silhouette observing from the window. Neither could ever notice such things and would never know they were watched.

'This changes things.' Two minds of nearly opposite individuals were thinking along identical lines for a moment. 'This changes many things.'

"And what is the point of this excursion, my Queen?" Kaine was once again in his full armor, following a few steps behind Louise and the blue haired girl, Tabitha, that was traveling with them. "As I already said, the assailant is far from the Academy, they would have left with all possible haste once they finished their attack."

"You heard Headmaster Osmond, Sir Kaine, whoever made Kirche's Familiar turn on her, stole one of the Academy's horses, left the stables a mess afterwards." Louise absentmindedly adjusted the black and red cloak Kaine had given her when he had learned they were being sent out, finding an odd attachment to the cloth despite the short time she'd had it. "I'm just glad we don't have to deal with the horses like some of the other students, gathering them all again will take weeks after how bad they were frightened."

"Yes…" Kaine held back his desire to laugh at the Academy's problem but didn't bother with the hint of distaste in his voice, something he was certain the two girls with him wouldn't be able to hear. They were terribly foolish at times, especially the blue haired bookworm who he would undoubtedly have to protect along with his Queen…if she ordered it that is. "I would hate to be doing that, such a simple and easy thing, instead of leading the two of you on a potentially dangerous mission against an undoubtedly powerful foe, someone I will have to do battle with while ensuring the safety my Queen as well as that of your slightly older companion."

"I highly doubt this will be very dangerous Sir Kaine, after all, both you and Tabitha are here with me, I'm perfectly safe." Louise looked to the blue haired girl, once again absorbed in her book but somehow managing to match her pace and follow unerringly down the route the two Nobles had agreed on just that morning after the meeting with Headmaster Osmond.

"Everything will be fine." Tabitha didn't bother looking up from her book as she spoke, instead deciding to keep her focus on it despite the knight's snort at both her words and her actions.

"Yes, knowing a girl hardly older than you is perfectly capable of defending you from anything I may not be able to is a great thing. I'm completely unworried, especially if all I see of this _great warrior_ is the sight of them reading at every moment of every day all day, never training or fighting to hone her _great _battle skills." Kaine's words made Louise sigh as she turned around to face the knight she had summoned.

"Are you really that against such an important mission from Headmaster Osmond himself, Kaine?" The only answer from the knight at first was a sigh before he knelt down, becoming eye level with Louise and she could see the worry in his eyes as he gently took one of her hands in his own.

"My Queen, this journey is not safe for you and I would deeply wish that you remain safe but with your friend Gramont injured after our duel spiraled so far out of hand, I trust no one at your Academy to protect you from harm." Kaine's words were heartfelt but were not responsible for Louise's vibrant red blush, it was the knight's eyes as held nothing but devotion to her, a rare thing she had seen only from her father and for only a short time before her many faults began to show even to his eyes and soon nothing but a bleak look of disappointment, of shame crossed his face anytime she looked at him.

"Sir Kaine, you don't need to worry about me like this, I am perfectly safe with you here with me, I will always be safe as long as you are by my side." Tabitha glanced up from her book at Louise's words, seeing the utter trust and devotion in her eyes and then turned her eyes to the knight and immediately turned away and back to her book.

He was…it was impossible to explain but anytime she turned her eyes towards him, even a mere glance was enough to greatly disturb her. Every time their eyes met, she felt nothing but a complete and pure fear flow through her, a primal part of her awakening and urging her to flee, to run, to hide, simply anything just to get away from whatever Louise had summoned to her side.

She might not know what precisely it was but Tabitha was no fool, the blue haired girl knew the creature was no pure knight. If it even was one at that, more likely a demon that had taken a noble form to trick them all.

Sadly it was working throughout the Academy, hardly a single Noble had a bad thing to say about Zero's Knight after his showing against Gramont.

"That does not ease my worry for you my Queen, my worry for Her Majesty is endless. I am your loyal knight and I am to ensure your safety, something this journey we have undertaken has made much more difficult as it can very well risk your life and with all of my honor, my very soul, I cannot allow such a thin." He sounded caring like always, at least when he was talking to Louise as he always seemed to have nothing but absolute devotion to the pink haired Noble but that had to be a lie or perhaps the actions of the Familiar Runes on him. Neither option was very pleasant to think about to the observing Tabitha.

"Sir Kaine…" Louise didn't know what to say so she merely threw her arms around her knight. "I'll be fine with you Sir Kaine, there's now need to worry about me."

"My Queen…" Kaine seemed somewhat hesitant before he gently wrapped one arm around Louise and held her tight. "I will try not to worry."

Throughout it all, Tabitha merely listened despite her own desire to speak out. The knight may be gentle with Louise but he was very different to everyone else…very dangerous, something their meeting in Headmaster Osmond's office had made abundantly clear.

_Three hours ago…_

"I'm here to see Headmaster Osmond, I received his letter and I've come just like he requested." Longueville merely nodded as she stood up from her desk, heading over to the doors after motioning for the blue haired Noble to follow after her.

"I can guess you want to know why Osmond is sending you out, correct?" Longueville stopped at the door, looking back at Tabitha who only nodded.

"I would like to know, I and Kirche are rather close and I would prefer to not be away from her without good reason."

"Despite what you may think of yourself, you're one of the more powerful as well as experienced Nobles here, making you the only suitable candidate to handle one of our current problems." Longueville nodded towards the door ahead of them. "Osmond will explain more to you while I wait for them to arrive and then I'll be taking you out so they can talk in private."

Stepping aside, Longueville returned to her desk as Tabitha took a moment to collect herself both physically and mentally before entering, fighting down her sudden nerves for only a moment.

"Ah, Tabitha, I'm glad you received my letter in time." Headmaster Osmond was for once not at his desk, he was looking out the window and took in the view of the school it offered him. "I trust Ms. Longueville gave you the reason for you being asked for?"

"Yes…I have a mission correct?"

"Good, then I don't need to keep you long." Osmond waved his hand, merely looking for confirmation and ignoring her question for now, as a scroll appeared in Tabitha's hands followed by a slim book. "The scroll contains the details of what your mission entails while the tome is something I think you might find of use in your free time. It's a rather short read, taking less than an hour to completely finish, but it has a few helpful tidbits I think you would like."

"_I have to ask that you wait for-"_ Longueville's voice reached them both through the doors but Osmond seemed to simply ignore it.

"_Do not bar the way of my Queen."_ Another voice, one Tabitha had never heard before, spoke up next and Osmond visibly tensed before turning around.

"Tabitha, come take a seat while I wait for my next guests, they shouldn't be long from the sound of it."

"Who is going to be going on this mission with me?" Tabitha's eyes locked with Osmond's and the elder Noble only offered her a small grin. "I want to know now Headmaster, I don't like being uninformed."

"Trust me Tabitha, you will find yourself with all the information you require in mere moments, simply have patience." Osmond settled himself down just as the doors were opened and Louise strode inside, a confidence to her the aged Noble had rarely seen on her past her first few days at the Academy. Behind her, the knight's eyes held a small glint in them as he broke eye contact with a terrified Longueville standing at the door, nearly white as snow from her brief contact with Louise's Familiar.

"Do not bar the way of my Queen again." He may have spoken to Longueville but his eyes locked with Osmond's for a moment and an invisible clash took place before the knight looked away.

"Ah, Louise, I trust you received my letter?" Osmond smiled towards Louise, the pink haired Noble doing the same as she took a seat, her Familiar standing behind her after pulling out the chair and a small smirk was on his face, one directed at Osmond but one Tabitha noticed before it vanished even if his eyes still held a mocking light to them, one that the Headmaster could ignore as he focused on the cheerful Louise, a rare sight for him and one he took in full despite the situation that caused it.

"Of course Headmaster, I came as soon as I could." Louise was excited, it was clear in the way she could hardly remain still even after the knight laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, only stopping her for a moment before she began again. "I can't express my gratitude that you trust me with such a delicate mission like this, it is a great honor to even know you considered me, let alone chose me."

"I have nothing but trust for the daughter of the legendary Heavy Wind and I know you will easily accomplish the task." Osmond's words had an effect on Louise, the Noble immediately looking to be disappointed before it was gone just as quickly as it had come, replaced by her excitement again before she managed to calm herself and speak.

"I will not disappoint your expectations Headmaster Osmond, not again." Louise's words were met with a small nod and a grin from the Headmaster before the knight laid a hand on her shoulder yet again, the Headmaster's eyes narrowing at the actions for only a moment before they settled.

"I know you won't, you have a great amount of potential merely waiting to be unearthed and I know it will be revealed now." Osmond ignored the way Louise looked up at the knight behind her, adoration in them reserved for a select few now directed at the creature she had summoned and become bond to, hopefully not for much longer if the Noble could accomplish his task.

"I'm curious what this mission is you intend to send my Queen on, as her knight I must know what I will face in battle." Kaine's eyes did not leave Louise's as he spoke, the Noble turning her eyes on Osmond the moment he finished.

"What is the mission you want me to complete?" Louise's question only prompted Osmond to hand a letter to Louise, something that immediately gained the focus of the knight behind her, a silver of displeasure visible before it was hidden away but the Headmaster caught it nonetheless.

"As you know, Ms. Zerbst's attacker fled once her Familiar lost control of itself and attacked not only the students nearby but its master as well. I trust only you to discover this assailant and bring them to justice for their heinous crime. Severing the bond between a master and her Familiar has death as its only punishment but if they can be returned to be questioned, I must ask that you do so." Osmond watched Louise as she read the letter, the eyes of the knight not leaving his own and it disturbed him greatly. The creature's hold on Louise only added to it as he received no reaction as she folded the letter and handed it to the abomination behind her.

"Ms. Valliere, do you have any other questions?" Osmond received no response, Louise's eyes may have been directed at him but there was nothing to them for a moment before the light in them returned as the creature behind her withdrew his hands from her shoulders, the Headmaster hiding the horror he felt when he spotted the creature's hands covered in black markings for a single instant before they were gone, retreating to hide behind the plate he wore.

"My Queen, I believe the letter from this morning explained everything else, shall we depart to your chambers to prepare?" Louise immediately nodded to the knight's words as she stood up, the Headmaster eyes holding a mixture of rage and a hint of fear locked with those of the knight, a smirk on his face as he gently guided Louise out. "The journey will be somewhat long if we are to properly follow the trail, I shall help you to pack accordingly for it."

"Thank you Sir Kaine." Louise received a smile from the knight in return before he stopped and turned back to the Headmaster, his face the perfect image of pleasantness if not for his eyes.

One thing the Noble had learned from this meeting was to watch the creature's eyes. It could hide it's expressions and wears its masks but it's eyes seemed to almost routinely give away it's true intentions.

"We shall await in my Queen's chambers for our associate, please make haste to prepare yourself before we are as I wish to leave quickly." The knight looked towards Tabitha for the first time since he had entered the room with Louise and she had been excluded from the conversation, the blue haired Noble feeling a rather strong fear of the knight, his blood red eyes may have held no threat at the moment but there was simply something disturbing about him, something in his eyes he didn't try to conceal when one looked into them.

'Louise, what did you summon?' Tabitha waited until the door was closed behind the knight before she collapsed back into the chair as Osmond turned to her, his expression a rare serious one she had never seen despite the numerous missions as a Chevalier the Headmaster had handed to her, some of them potentially fatal. 'Why am I so afraid right now? Why can't I stop shaking? Why c-'

"I believe I can guess your thoughts, can I not?" Osmond locked eyes with Tabitha, the shaking Noble freezing at the hard stare of the Headmaster interrupting her thoughts. "You feel an inexplicable fear, one you have never known and have no idea even existed before today, before your encounter with the creature Louise has called forth as a Familiar. Even now, long after Ms. Valliere and the creature with her had left, a sheer terror continues to hold a grip on your heart, a terror you cannot understand the persistence of. The cause of your fear is seemingly long gone is it not? You believe you have no reason to feel fear yet you do, you feel nothing but a pure fear even when out of the creature's presence."

"I-I do." Tabitha couldn't find it in herself to look at the Headmaster, fear of either disappointment or pity in his eyes. "I don't know why but that…_thing_ terrifies me even now."

"Chevalier Tabitha, I have called on you because of the creature Louise has summoned to our school. I need the beast out of the school to prepare the ritual to send it away and I can only do so if you are with Louise." Osmond's Familiar appeared at the desk, handing over several scrolls that grew to their true size as the Noble leaned back in his chair. "As you can see, Louise is being controlled by the beast through the contract she had unwittingly agreed to. Professor Colbert has run himself ragged in order to find a solution and I intend to finish it for him. Can I trust you to keep Louise from growing anymore attached to that demon?"

"Headmaster…" For once, Tabitha was at a loss for words and with good reason. "I'm-I'm afraid of her Familiar. I can't do anything against him…"

"You do not need to confront the beast, you need only keep Louise from growing more attached to that creature." Osmond looked back towards the window, his eyes staring past the Academy's grounds and to the fields beyond it. "I will not leave you alone with that creature, my Familiar, Chuchu has arranged for you be followed by his brethren."

"I mean no offense to your Familiar Headmaster Osmond but what good would mice be against a demon?" Tabitha's words made the old Noble chuckle as he waved his hand over the indignantly squeaking mouse standing up on his desk.

In a rush of power that Tabitha had only felt from the greatest of the creatures she encountered on her missions, a figure stood clad in an odd robe, a taunting grin crossing their lips.

"I really hate it when folks like you doubt my kind." Tabitha could only stare at the figure in front of her as the Headmaster could only chuckle.

"Ah, I do love seeing people react when they see Chuchu's first transformation." Osmond laid a hand on his Familiar's shoulder, a wave of power sweeping through the room before a plain white mouse had returned before he turned back to the still stunned Tabitha. "As you can see, Chuchu is not to be underestimated in any way and neither are his brethren."

"I-I apologize." Tabitha bowed her head and Osmond rose from his seat as the mouse left the room in his usual hurry.

"As I said, I will not leave you unprotected against the demon Louise has mistakenly summoned. I will not allow you to be endangered in any way as all I ask is for you to keep Louise from growing closer with the creature, befriend her on this journey and pull her away from the corruptive nature of her "knight" so I may avoid harming her when you return."

Tabitha was silent for only a moment then, nodding to the Headmaster as she rose out of her seat. She would still be afraid of the demon that Louise had summoned by accident, but she would do her best to accomplish her mission. She was a true knight and it was her responsibility to unmask imposters like the false one Louise had summoned.

"I will do my best Headmaster."

"Thank you Tabitha."

_Present…_

Tabitha shook herself from her memories, a shiver traveling down her spine when she caught the knight yet again looking at her. She only vaguely remembered Louise asking for them to stop and make camp and when she spotted the tent she knew she was inside, one undoubtedly set up by her knight while she was lost in her thoughts.

For a single moment, fear gripped her heart again before the soaring dragon above her immediately calmed her. Sylphid was watching her constantly from above, the Familiar had not released either her or the knight from its sight ever since Tabitha has asked the dragon to remain airborne until she called.

"Kaine."

"Why must you speak so coldly to Her Majesty's loyal knight my little blue Noble?" Kaine's façade was gone at the moment, he offered a cruel smirk towards Tabitha, one that made the normally calm and collected Noble take a step back in response to a feeling of pure fear, an action that made his smirk widen. "Ah, it is out of fear then, correct?"

Another step back only led the knight to take another step forward.

"You are terrified of the power I keep within my flesh."

Another step forward made her take another step back.

"You fear my mere presence."

Another step forward caused yet another step back.

"It is good to fear."

The knight was changing, a power unlike any the Noble had ever felt beginning to emerge from him.

"Fear is power."

No. This power did not come from him, it consumed him just the same as it would inevitably consume herself.

"This power,"

Light gave way to the blackness of death.

", a gift I so lovingly care for,"

Death reached for her. Death would take her.

", I shall give to you."

"Sylphid!" At the Noble's cry, the dragon that had circled the air above them shot to the ground, the Familiar letting out a growl as she landed but the knight was far from scared by the normally menacing sight, he seemed to find more amusement than anything from it even if the aura he had released faded away in the same amount of time it took for the dragon to reach the ground.

Normally, a growl from the dragon would usually make anyone against her cower but it seemed the opposite now as a mere look from the knight was enough to freeze the advance of the dragon but that was all, the Familiar didn't back down and cower away like he expected and a light of amusement shown through the knight's eyes once he noticed this.

"Ah, so you wish for your dragon to stop me if I was to attack?" Kaine couldn't help but laugh at such a thought. "I would not even require my sword to dispatch your Familiar my little blue Noble, you are far from a threat to the power I have been gifted to wield. I require naught but my hands to face you."

"Stop talking." Tabitha's grip tightened on her staff, the Noble holding back her desire to attack the knight as she glanced towards Louise's tent. "Go to your master and leave me alone."

"Ah, have you reclaimed your bravery then?" The knight smirked at Tabitha, taking a step towards her and seemed to be only more amused when she didn't take one back in return if the growing grin on his face was any indicator of his mode. "Have you perhaps gained more foolish courage than I originally imagined my little blue Blessing?"

'Blessing?' Tabitha couldn't hide her confusion nor fear as she considered what the word, more like a title, could mean to the knight. 'Is it a spell? Regardless, I need time to think.'

"Sylphid." At her command, the dragon let out a growl and took a step forward, wings spreading as the dragon seemed ready to lunge at the knight, Kaine only grinned as he observed the dragon attempt to threaten a warrior that had forced far worse creatures into brutal submission.

"Ah, I see we will cut our conversation short then?" Kaine merely chuckled as he turned around, heading towards Louise's tent before he stopped, turning his head to look past the dragon and straight into Tabitha's eyes. "Simply remember this, my little blue haired Noble, you are next."

His piece said, the knight snapped his fingers and Tabitha immediately shielded herself with a wave of her staff as a wave of power swept through their impromptu camp. It was harmless in many regards, the knight simply removed his armor in a rather extravagant way merely to terrify Tabitha into action.

"Sweet dreams my little Blessing, soon they will all come to an end."

The knight was gone when the blue haired Noble lowered her staff, a glare on her face as she turned to the blue dragon next to her.

"Sylphid, be on guard tonight." The dragon nodded as she settled down, Tabitha resting underneath her wing in lieu of a tent. Sylphid had gently discouraged such a thing while on missions and Tabitha listened to her Familiar, choosing instead to sleep under her wings to avoid packing such an unnecessary thing like a tent.

"I don't like them."

"No one but Louise likes him, he has her under a spell of some sort but Louise is a lot nicer once you get to know her."

"No, I like Louise, I don't like them."

"What?"

Away from the camp where the blue haired Noble was confused by the words of her Familiar, far away in truth, Kaine sat in deep thought, an amused smirk still on his face from toying with the blue haired Noble traveling with his Queen but it quickly faded as he focused his thoughts on the numerous tasks at hand. All of them required his attention but he held no desire to devoting much of his time to any tasks at the moment excluding one he would need to deal with shortly. In reality, it was the reason he had left the camp and his Queen not as protected as he liked except for the measure in place within her tent.

"I should have foreseen this." Kaine ran an armor free hand through his hair, stopping for a moment and using a nearby pond as a mirror to observe himself. His blood red eyes had specks of emerald in them and such an observation only made him scowl.

'How aggravating.' Kaine dismissed the last remnants of his armor, the addition of a light chainmail across his frame, his upper clothing with it and a growl threatened to emerge from his throat as he observed the seven white rings on his chest, each of them with a line heading towards the center to connect and only one line was blackened. 'It seems it failed once I made my gamble, no matter.'

Kaine's armor reappeared for a brief moment before he paused as he seemed about to turn away from the pond when something caught his attention. It was his reflection, a golden spider web of cracks seemingly filling the sky behind him and with it the water turned jet black for a moment before emerald green eyes stared back at him, replacing his own for the moment.

"Hello again my King." Kaine sarcastic tone as he gave a mock bow to his almost perfect reflection was clear as a copy of his own face scowled up at him from the blackened lake, color beginning to return to it but only around the imperfect reflection.

"_I distaste even the sight of you Kaine_." The distorted voice made the knight grin as he looked past the figure masquerading as his reflection for now, observing the surroundings behind him and he frowned.

"I see you've been busy then." Kaine covered his face with one hand, a sigh of annoyance escaping him as he took in the changes to the area around his reflection.

"_Of course I have_." The false reflection offered a small smirk before its glare returned. "_I will not allow you free reign here Kaine, I will stop you if it is the last thing that I do._"

"You speak so similar to your better half it is annoying." At his words, gauntleted hands attempted to break through the water's surface only to fail as Kaine sneered down at the imperfect reflection below him.

"_I am stronger than my other half, Kaine._" The reflection calmed down it seems, his hands returning to his side as he continued to glare at the red eyed knight. _"You should know that."_

"Yet I have caged you all the same my King." Kaine only laughed as the image seemed to waver, something hidden nearly revealed before it was gone, his imperfect reflection swiftly returning.

"_You have only doomed yourself Kaine, I am more powerful than you can imagine. You cannot stop me for long." _The imperfect reflection sneered at Kaine, his distaste for the _knight _before him clear.

"We will see my King, you have never stopped me even with your best of plans. You will not do so now." Kaine's words only made the reflection's grin widen.

"_Is that so?"_

"Indeed, no one shall stop Her Majesty."

"_You are a delusional fool Kaine, I will be the one to stop you and end your precious Majesty with my own two hands._" Immediately, Kaine's entire demeanor changed. At first, he was dismissive of the figure masquerading as himself but he quickly turned enraged from such a threat.

"You dare!" Kaine's hands shot into the water's surface but ripples didn't spread instead a harsh red light pierced through the forests around him as his hands wrapped around the neck of the one masquerading as his reflection.

"_I will kill you demon! I will destroy you once I am free!_" The reflection was gone, replaced by a man wrapped in chains, Kaine doing his best to strangle him before he vanished and now the knight only held water between his hands.

Kaine was silent as he pulled his hands from the water, shaking them for a moment to get rid of the majority of the droplets on his hands before he looked down at his hands, a single golden drop of water seemingly too stubborn to fall like the others but he saw no reason to brush it away…yet at least.

'I will await your return with great eagerness, my _King_.' Kaine turned away from the pond, his eyes briefly closing as he took a deep breath.

'I need to deal with the Chevalier soon.' Kaine looked out to the woods, grinning as he easily sensed the well masked presence within. 'But first, I need to deal with the old man's spy.'

"_Do you think it went well?" Oh great, the mouse was back to whatever it was…probably some type of creature. Elf? Perhaps. Worlds operated under different laws and they must be handled as if they are all different until proven otherwise. "Was my performance really good or was it bad? Was I too aggressive? Too passive?"_

"_I think we have more to worry about than your most recent performance."_

"_But it's so important! First impressions are very delicate matters my Master!"_

"_Please Chuchu, let's focus on matters more important."_

"_Fine…how dangerous is this ritual of yours really going to be Osmond?"_

"_I do not know, we will have to wait and see in many regards. The only thing I am sure of is that, once I complete the preparations, it should be easy to repel the demon." The Headmaster was quite the fool it seemed._

"_We can only hope I suppose." The creature transformed back into a mouse. That will become annoying very quickly, too many pests like it survived for too long, becoming thorns on one of the many roses that needed to be trimmed before he could hand Her Majesty such an exquisite bouquet._

Kaine wished to fight, he truly did but he did have restraint when it was necessary and at the moment it was needed. It would only harm Her Majesty if he revealed his knowledge now, only harm his Queen if he was to attack now.

So he would wait, he would allow the rats to scurry at his feet for now but he would still lay a trap fit for the foolish ones that did not hide from his sight.

Soon he shall rid this world o a particularly annoying pest and his Queen would be ever the more safer with one less rodent to bother her.

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AN: Well, that's it but hey...double update!

That makes up for the super long time between updates, right?


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own and/or claim to own any recognizable and/or licensed material in this work of fiction in any way, shape, and/or form. I am not attempting to and/or making a profit in any way, shape, and/or form from this work of fiction. All recognizable and/or licensed material appearing in this work of fiction belongs to the owners in every way, shape, and/or form to the fullest extent of the law.

AN: See! Double update!

* * *

In the infirmary wing of the Tristian Academy of Magic, one Noble simply laid awake in his bed, long before the servants would arrive with the occupants' breakfast, he merely lied awake in deep thought for the most part. The words of Louise's knight and his, in all but a few ways, doppelganger stayed with him well past his encounters with both.

"_You have done well Mr. Gramont." The knight took a step back as the two clashed blades-_

"_I am not impressed." The knight, now in full armor-_

"_Come to me with all you have and let this battle be immortal!" The knight attacked him then, Guiche using a bronze sword to repel the first strike-_

"_This was not a battle to me Guiche de Gramont." The knight grasped his sword with one hand, his voice holding disappointment-_

"_Let this be the end of our battle!" The knight drew back the bow in his hand, Guiche grinning as he flicked his wand out to the side, a rose blooming-_

"_Make peace for a single shot will kill you."_

"What is wrong with me?" Guiche rubbed at his eyes, hoping to clear up his vision as two very different scenes played out in his mind. "Am I hallucinating?"

The battle he faced with Louise's knight was near legendary, not the onesided contest in the knight's favor his mind was attempting to make him accept as truth. He had never once felt fear during the battle he had with the knight, not the ever present feeling of the emotion gnawing at his thoughts and resolve ever since he walked onto the courtyard. He was a Noble and one of the great Gramont family with it! He could not possibly feel such a thing as fear, only a commoner would ever feel such a cowardly emotion in battle!

'I must be hallucinating, it's the only way to explain what I saw once the knight brought me here.' Guiche remembered quite vividly the fever dream he had suffered through, one where the all but doppelganger of the knight he had faced in combat had showed him a nightmarish and hellish world, a world where the noble knight he faced was a demon who delighted in the suffering of his victims, rejoiced at the mere sight of a woman who's exotic beauty he could not begin to describe but he knew she was twisted, dark, and vile merely looking at her. 'I must have been more injured than I imagined when I was brought here.'

The knight he encountered in the visions brought on by his fever dream showed him something different, something that did not fit the memories he had and now his mind was wracked with pain as he attempted to look through it all. Louise's knight, as he remembered their encounter before the duel and at the summoning, was always courteous if threatening at first but his all but clone showed him something different. Showed him the knight as little more than a demon, demonic black steel and a sword wrapped in fires his true self. The image of a knight in gleaming silver plate and an equally as magnificent sword at his side was simply that, an image and one Louise's knight did not attempt to maintain for long. His memory, his mind, felt damaged in so many ways yet he could not even begin to start to heal them, it was as if everything now held inconsistencies.

Even his memories of his time with Louise felt off now, as if they did not truly exist yet he knew they were the truth. The memories he could associate with the knight brought no feeling from him, as if he did not truly experience any of them, while those that he knew to be real, the memories that must be true, those of his time with Louise, brought forth some type of feeling from him.

"_My, the Zero thinks she can actually show her face after that disaster yesterday? I'm surprised you haven't run home yet, little girl." Kirche's mocking voice carried across the room, the pink haired Noble almost turning and fleeing if not for the fact that Guiche was behind her, one hand gently resting on her back as he glared at Zerbst._

"_Watch your tongue Germanian." The blonde's Nobles words silenced Kirche, at least for now, before he turned to Louise, drawing his wan-_

"GAH!" Guiche grabbed at his head, feeling as if he would be sick for a moment as an image settled over his own, one of the knight and a smiling Louise. He struggled to keep himself from falling off of the bed and barely succeeded as he took a moment to collect himself, taking several deep breaths before he came back to himself.

'Why does that keep happening?'

"_Guiche, please don't leave me." _

"By the Founder this is confusing!" Guiche withheld himself from truly shouting, his hands balling into fists as he tried to understand what was happening to him, stopping himself from attempting to rip his hair out. "Why does this keep happening to me?"

The blonde Noble let out a sigh as he looked around at the slowly brightening infirmary, sunlight streaming through the windows as the curtains began to open themselves, no doubt thanks to the matron setting them to.

"Why can't I keep my thoughts together?" Guiche sighed before he saw the door open and the matron walked in with the Headmaster.

"Mr. Gramont is making a wonderful recovery, he should be released in a few days but I understand if you want to see him now Headmaster."

"Thank you, I've been curious to speak with Mr. Gramont ever since I heard of his rapid recovery once Ms. Valliere paid him a visit."

"I'm afraid the same can't be said for Ms. Zerbst through, she still remains mostly the same." The two briefly stopped at the Germanian Noble's bed, both merely observing the wounded Noble.

"That is a shame, I hope she can recover soon."

"I hope the same, we have several months before she is due to return to Germania at least."

"Yes, despite the situation, we are rather fortunate."

"Yes…I shall leave you two." The matron's words received no reply as she turned and left, the Headmaster stopping next to Guiche's bed.

"And how are you today Mr. Gramont?" Osmond slowly sat down in the chair next to the blonde's bed, the Noble staring at the headmaster visiting him for a moment before he gave his best attempt at a bow while bedridden.

"Headmaster Osmond, I'm delighted to see you here but why are you spending your time here instead of someplace else?" Guiche eyed the headmaster, a strange feeling coming from the aged Noble but one he wrote off as simply his discomfort with being in the infirmary so he took a moment to adjust himself on the numerous pillows keeping him upright.

"I merely wish to see how one of my students is doing after his honorable if somewhat foolish duel with Ms. Valliere's Familiar." At his words, Guiche held his head, a lance of pain shooting through it at the mere mention of the duel and his action was noted by the Headmaster. "Is something the matter Mr. Gramont?"

"I believe it's just migraines Headmaster, nothing some rest won't fix." Guiche's words brought a nod from the Headmaster as he rose from his chair.

"Then I won't keep you any longer, I believe my questions can always wait for later." The Headmaster made to turn around but paused as he laid a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "I insist that you get some rest Mr. Guiche and I will hope we can continue our conversation later."

"Yes, I'll do that."

"_Yes, we need to speak."_ Unbidden, Guiche's eyes closed and he drifted off as the Headmaster left the infirmary, deep in his own thoughts at the moment.

"Sir Kaine, I've never slept so well before, even at the Academy." Louise walked through the woods with the knight, a small laugh escaping him as he glanced above them, Tabitha flying lazily above them on Sylphid, a book in her arms and her eyes focused down on it even if she was supposed to be watching for any potential dangers from the skies.

"Nature is quite the difference maker at times. I find it quite relaxing at times as well, my sleep is much deeper and peaceful out here than anywhere else."

"I can see why." Louise briefly stopped, smiling as she took in the peaceful forest around her. "I feel at ease here, mostly thanks to you Sir Kaine."

"I am grateful that such peace of mind has reached you my Queen." Kaine offered Louise a small smile when the pink haired Noble turned to him, the knight stopping for a moment to seemingly admire the world around him as Louise did the same.

'I will have to be busy tonight.' Kaine suppressed the desire to sigh as the thought struck him, a large list of problems he would need to solve very quickly. 'I have never been good at this but with the Chevalier here it makes my preferred method for dealing with it all impossible. If she wasn't so observant perhaps I could get away with more but I shall not risk any possible harm to Her Majesty.'

"Might I suggest we rest for a while, I doubt you are used to the armor I've given you." Kaine himself was dressed in his full armor, a dark green cloak to blend in with the rich foliage as well as hide his gleaming silver armor the only addition worth mentioning.

"I must once again thank you for this wonderful gift Sir Kaine." Louise looked down in marvel at her knight's gift to her and Kaine only offered a small smile as he looked over her changed appearance.

Louise's attire had suffered quite the change by a gift from Kaine when she woke up in the morning.

"_My Queen, may I present to you a gift." Kaine bowed as he offered the Noble a smile, a set of freshly made armor resting at her feet along with something the knight held in his hands._

"_Kaine…" Louise stared at the armor, wide-eyed as she approached it, almost too stunned for words. "It's beautiful."_

_It was truly beautiful, every line, every curve, every design in place on the armor spoke of the work of a master craftsman, someone of legendary skill and the Noble remained stunned as she took in its dark colors that were strangely comforting, freshly polished before her. Louise found it impossible to bring herself to touch such a masterpiece, such a work of art, let alone wear such a masterpiece. She would think it was to be displayed in a museum but such a thing would be an even greater insult, it was crafted for war, not for display._

"_It hardly fits the beauty of you, my Queen." Kaine rose back to his full height, his smile still in place as he walked over to stand behind the armor. "Yet I have done my best, I am not as skilled as I would like to be but I feel royal steel will protect you much better than the cloak the Academy provided you." _

"_But you must have worked all night on this!" Louise continued to marvel at the armor, almost afraid to touch it until Kaine reached over and gently took hold of her wrists to help her do so._

"_I have done it all out of love for you my Queen." Kaine's hands guided Louise's to rest on the breastplate, black marked with a dark gold and a language the Noble could not decipher traveled in elegant scroll across the armor, in many ways looking alive despite its stillness. "I wish only the best for you on this journey and I wish only the best for your health because of it."_

"_Sir Kaine, I can't begin to tell you how great of a gift this is." Louise couldn't keep the smile off her face as she reached past the armor, wrapping her arms around Kaine as he only offered her a small laugh._

"_I am glad you enjoy simply gazing at it, perhaps I can help you try it on as well?"_

"_Of course!"_

Louise's eyes brightened at the memory, one hand reaching under the cloak, fingertips running across the gift from Sir Kaine, her knight truly wonderful for the gift even if Tabitha seemed a bit upset with her own set of armor but wore it regardless once she asked her. The blue haired Noble was welcome company, mainly because she wasn't someone that had mocked her before Kaine had arrived, she was one of the few to not torment her almost daily with her failures. At the same time through, she did nothing to stop it either, she was only an observer at best but her choice of company made her almost as bad as the others. Zerbst was always the ringleader, the boys of the school mindlessly followed the Germanian because of her personality and while Tabitha may have never been one of Zerbst's lackeys, she was still her friend.

'If only she didn't enjoy spending time with that filthy Zerbst we could be friends.' Louise's eyes briefly darkened as she remembered her tormentor before she allowed herself to remember other things, namely Zerbst near death after her "oh so great and wonderful" Familiar went wild and nearly killed her. 'It serves Zerbst right for tormenting me like that, I'd wish she was dead but this is much better.'

"My Queen, how much longer do you wish to follow this path?" Kaine settled down next to Louise, the pink haired Noble leaning back against a nearby tree to rest for the moment.

"I don't know in all honesty Kaine. We have no idea where Zerbst's attacker disappeared at, only the general area being these woods but they look to stretch forever in any given direction." Louise looked slightly disappointed as she spoke, either from not having a clear lead or merely mentioning Zerbst was unknown even to the knight with her.

"My Queen, if I may ask, can't your friend's dragon track Zerbst's assailant by scent?" Kaine looked up towards the dragon, offering a smirk to the blue haired Noble when she caught him doing so and Sylphid quickly flew elsewhere at the urging of her master.

"I doubt Tabitha has trained her dragon to do anything like that and we don't have the time to waste if her Familiar makes a mistake, we'll never catch them then and I would have failed Headmaster Osmond and lost the great deal of trust he has placed in me." Louise's eyes darkened at the mere thought of failure, something Kaine took note of before he looked towards the sky again, spotting the annoying Chevalier long gone for the moment, no doubt her fear overrode her devotion to her mission at the moment. "I would have asked Headmas-"

Ignoring the girl for very briefly, Kaine's eyes flickered over to the trees around the two of them and his eyes briefly narrowed before he turned his eyes back to the pink haired Noble. He dimly took in the fact that she was still talking about what she wished she had to complete the mission when the knight held back the urge to look behind him.

'Amateurs.'

"-wish we could have prepared more. I guess we'll have to track down who was behind the attack in another way." Louise sighed as she turned to the knight next to her, just as she could have sworn she saw the woods around them move but immediately wrote it off.

"I see, then I will see what I can do." Kaine rose to his feet as he spoke before offering the Noble a kind smile as a silver gauntlet trailed across the edges of her vision. "I bid you to sleep for now, My Queen."

"I think I will Sir Kaine." Louise yawned as she drifted off, the peace of the woods around her helping her to do so with ease, the golden dust that seemed to settle around her from Kaine's hand only helped as she felt a strange if oddly comforting warmth from it. "I feel so tired…"

"Do not worry, your knight is here my Queen. Sleep…" Kaine's words had the desired effect as Louise's eyes closed, the knight merely observing her for a moment before adjusting the cloak on her shoulders and pulling up the hood, the Noble seemingly fading into the rich foilage around her as he did so. "…and do not awake until I have returned to your side."

Quickly, Kaine rose to his full height yet again and with only a brief look to his queen, a blue mist seemed to engulf him before he simply vanished, the displaced dirt hanging in the air as a brief dust the only sign of his movements.

Tristain Academy of Magic, Outside Jean Colbert's Personal Quarters….

"Thank you Siesta, I can take it from here." The maid only nodded, very quickly leaving the faculty wing of the school and heading back to her duties.

Privately, being anywhere near any of the professors, especially someone like Colbert, terrified most of the staff. The children they could all handle, they hardly acknowledged them but some of the professors were different, terrifyingly so to most and Colbert was one of them. The staff knew about his past, his less than clean records from the Royal Army. He may have resigned in good standing but word spread quickly away from the Nobles and by now every servant knew what he had done, why he hid away from the world in the Academy now.

"Jean, how are you feeling?" Longueville gently closed the door behind her despite her arms being filled at the moment with several large books, the bald professor offering her a small smile as he put the book he was reading on the side.

"I'm doing fine, I just wish Osmond would allow me to continue my work out of bed." Strewn across the bed were various papers and books, testament to Colbert's continued research even after the headmaster had confined him to bedrest indefinitely. "I can't help but wish to see how Louise is doing with my own eyes."

"I can tell you if you're really that worried about her." Longueville sat the books down next to her as she sat down on the edge of the bed, sighing as she thought on Louise's situation.

"I'm relatively fine not knowing Ms. Longueville, a few more days of not knowing won't kill me." Colbert attempted to joke but it was clearly forced, he was beyond worried about Louise and whatever the demon she had summoned had done to her after he had been confined to his chambers by Osmond and a mere look from Longueville made him sigh as he looked down at his blanket covered legs. "I can't help but worry for her, she's a lot like family to me, and I can't bear to see her in anymore pain than she already is."

"I won't lie to you Osmond…things, things don't look good at the moment." Longueville couldn't look at Colbert, the professor gently reaching out to the green haired woman, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up Ms. Longueville, I shouldn't have asked about her."

"No." Longueville pulled his hand from her shoulder, offering him a small smile as she held his hand. "I'm glad you care for Ms. Valliere so much, especially with everything she's been through since she's been enrolled in the academy."

"I should have done so much more for her…so much more…" Jean found Longueville's grip reassuring as he looked down at the numerous papers across his bed. "I should have been there for her these past few days but I couldn't be, just another failure to add to my already large list it seems."

"Don't blame yourself Jean, blame the demon poisoning Louise's mind." Longueville's words did little to reassure the professor but it did turn the normally calm man angry, his eyes focusing on the stone wall in front of him, the heat of the room rising.

"I intend to face the creature when Ms. Valliere returns."

"JEAN!"

"It's the only way to save her, the demon's bonds to her must be broken and the only way to do so is to face him in combat, the only thing he would agree to."

"But it's suicidal! Even if it was kind, it did not show Mr. Gramont any mercy when they fought each other! It destroyed the boy and nearly killed him if Ms. Valliere didn't save him!"

"I know, that's why I intend to fight it. I know how it fights now, how it relies on his swordsmanship to face any opponent. I can kill it if only given the time I need which I am sure I can achieve."

"But Jean, that creature only grows stronger the longer its stays bond to Louise! I can't let you go out there just to die!"

"I am not weak Ms. Longueville! I did not earn my moniker because I was lucky!" The heat around the room exploded, the source of it clear to be coming from the enraged professor as Longueville hastily grabbed him, snapping him out of his trance just as the paper around him began to smolder.

"Jean…"

"I-I'm sorry Ms. Longueville." Colbert looked down, his eyes focused on the slightly blackened papers on the bed. "I-I lost control of myself…"

"Jean…I understand, everyone understands with how close the two of you were."

"I just can't fail her Ms. Longueville…I can't fail her again."

"You never failed her Jean, you did everything you could."

"And look at what's happened, a demon controls her every waking moment!"

"And you have already thought of a plan to destroy it."

"I-I just need to do more, I've already failed her so much ever since she's come to the Academy that I can't bear the thought of doing so again."

"Jean…"

The green haired woman did the only thing she could do as she wrapped her arms around the professor, offering him someone to hold onto when he felt like nothing but a failure.

"Jean…"

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AN: Well, now it's time for a few honest questions about Zero's Knight:

1) On a scale of like 1 to 10, how much do you like this story?

2) How do you like Kaine and Louise's relationship?

3) Would you care if I just murdered Guiche?

4) Do you think Osmond's going to beat Kaine?

Well, enough questions, time for answers to reviews:

Guest: Hey, I don't really set out to please everybody and the beginning is pretty bad in my opinion

Paxloria: Sorry about all that, sorry about the lack of page breaks as well.

ShattereddAngel: I won't deny the part of him being psycho crazy. The pairing? No idea if that would work...


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